Mary Lou Chlipala

Mary Lou Chlipala received two LS&A awards in 2012: LS&A Staff Spotlight Award (spotlighting her excellent performance in the Department of Screen Arts & Cultures and in service to the College of LS&A.) and the LS&A Unsung Advising Award("recognizes an individual who is not designated formally as a general or concentration advisor, but, nevertheless, influence and guide students in positive ways.").  Mary Lou has always been an assistant to the Chair as program coordinator since 1998; the official title followed in 2010. Mary Lou started her professional career as a high school Drama and Physical Education teacher in Michigan and Colorado before moving into the university educational system. She spent 17 years working at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama where she was director of marketing and ticket sales plus managing director of CMU Drama's Showcase of New Plays. What attracted Mary Lou to the U-M was the University's commitment to writers, especially in Film, Television, and Media's Screenwriting program, the James Gindin Visiting Artist Series, and the opportunity to be co-founder and co-producer of the U-M Festival of New Works, a developmental workshop that staged a new play, musical, and a screenplay for six years, '99-'04.