Rate My Professor H.D Motyl

H.D. Motyl is an Associate Professor and Interim Director of the School of Theater and Dance at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Film/Video Production and Screenwriting from Northwestern University in 1990 and a bachelor's degree in English from Penn State University. Motyl joined Southern Illinois University in 2007 as an assistant professor in the Department of Radio-Television, later advancing to associate professor. Prior to SIU, he worked as a full-time lecturer in television at Columbia College Chicago and as an adjunct professor in Northwestern University’s Department of Radio/Television/Film. Throughout his career, Motyl has held various administrative roles, including interim chair of the Department of Radio, Television, and Digital Media, interim dean of the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts, and interim associate dean of the College of Arts and Media.

Motyl teaches media production, writing for television, and screenwriting, with expertise in film/video production, narrative storytelling, and gay representation in media. His research and creative work focus on documentary filmmaking. He has produced, directed, and written numerous documentaries for prominent networks, including National Geographic Channel, The History Channel, and A&E Channel, such as “Jonestown Tragedy,” “Waco Tragedy,” “9/11,” “Warrant to Kill,” “Lincoln Assassination,” “John Glenn, An American Legend,” and episodes for television programs and children’s videos. Notable projects include the documentary “Image of an Assassination: A New Look at the Zapruder Film,” which he wrote and produced and was featured at SIU Carbondale during a John F. Kennedy retrospective. His feature-length documentary “Cowboy Christmas,” chronicling professional rodeo cowboys, received Best Feature Documentary at the Madrid International Film Festival and Best of the Fest for Faculty Documentary at the Broadcast Education Association’s Festival of Media Arts. In 2010, Motyl was awarded the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Faculty Seminar Fellowship, attending a seminar in Los Angeles with leading industry professionals. Additionally, he serves as Managing Director and Artistic Director of the McLeod Summer Playhouse at SIU Carbondale.