The film department is starting the semester with one less professor.
Professor Brandon Doherty exited the Keene State Film Department at the end of the spring 2024 semester, taking a position as technical director for film and media studies at Dartmouth College.
“It was just another opportunity [that] came up, and I felt I had to take it,” Doherty said. “It was a very hard decision to move forward or leave Keene. I’m still really missing the school.”
Despite his departure, Doherty has complete faith in the film department going into the semester.
“There’s a lot of really strong moving parts involved with it [the Film Department], and it’s still, I think, moving in a really strong direction,” he said. “Just like any film production, it’s not one person, it’s multiple.”
“I don’t think the department is going to miss a beat,” he later said.
Doherty also voiced his admiration for Keene State students.
“I think Keene students are absolutely amazing,” he said. “They’re ****ing scrappy wonderful kids. You guys [students] fight, you want something and you’re going for it and you’re trying.”
Doherty, who served in a technical role for the department, also spoke about the college’s technological future.
“I think we’re moving towards a really positive element with IT,” Doherty said. “It’s easy to make fun of IT, it’s easy to pick on IT but it’s a very difficult position and infrastructure to deal with.”
Doherty also praised the IT department for listening to feedback.
“I really think, in a positive way, the community voiced their needs, and IT responded in a positive way. They did not ignore them, they worked actively to help,” he said.
“We should think positive that, because of the community voice, concerns were met and handled, and it’s moving in a good direction,” Doherty later said. “Keene IT can be awesome, those people are really great.”
In his time after Keene, Doherty has been busy doing “some more technical work with film.”
Doherty also expressed excitement about the department’s Ken Burns presentation on Sept. 9.
“I’m promoting it to everyone I know,” he said. “That’s a major thing.”
Film Department Chair Jo Dery gave this email statement on Doherty’s departure:
“Over the past four years, Brandon Doherty worked tirelessly to elevate the Film Studies program. He will be deeply missed by faculty, staff, and students. For the 2024-25 school year, we are fortunate to have hired two recent graduates as technical support staff – Emily Christian and Sydney Gemme. They are doing a great job supporting our students and we are grateful to have them.”
Christian and Gemme declined interviews with The Equinox.
Emily Sloane can be contacted at
esloane@kscequinox.com
