’Simpsons’ creator Matt Groening donates $500K to UCLA School of Theater, Film and TV

Matt Groening

Matt Groening, multi-award–winning creator of "The Simpsons," has donated $500,000 to the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (TFT) for the endowment of the Matt Groening Chair in Animation, TFT dean Teri Schwartz has announced.

"The Simpsons," which has aired for 23 years, is the longest running television comedy of all time. Groening’s creative talents have resulted in his receiving 12 Emmy Awards, 13 Emmy nominations, the 2002 National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award and a 2004 British Comedy Award.

In 2007, Groening was ranked fourth (and highest among Americans by birth) in Britain’s Daily Telegraph list of "Top 100 Living Geniuses." Later this month, he will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His iconic brand of satire and social commentary are evident throughout dozens of "Simpsons" specials, spin-offs and feature films, as well as the "Futurama" TV series, numerous books, merchandising and more.

"Matt Groening is recognized globally as a preeminent and pioneering animator, storyteller, cartoonist, writer and producer," Schwartz said. "His groundbreaking animated series have truly changed the landscape of television and have become a gold standard for animation and great storytelling throughout the entertainment industry.

"We are so inspired by Matt’s vision and truly honored by his remarkable generosity and support of our animation program. Our TFT animation program is known for its exceptional and diverse talent from across the globe, who create outstanding, award-winning, innovative works year in and year out. With this amazing gift, Matt has given our students enormous support and ensured that we will be able to take our program to even greater levels of excellence. Our animation students will benefit greatly from this endowment, and it will reinforce TFT’s continuing position as a premier professional school of entertainment and performing arts. Thank you, Matt Groening."

The Matt Groening Chair in Animation endowment will allow visiting master artists to teach classes in TFT’s animation program. The gift will enable the animation program to bring working professionals with wide-ranging expertise to work with TFT students on projects that may not normally be available in the animation curriculum.

This is also the second year of the Matt Groening Initiative, an annual gift of $50,000 — pioneered by Groening and Barbara Boyle, chair of TFT’s film, television and digital media department — that supports animation students producing short films with social responsibility themes. The first year of the initiative’s support led to TFT’s Erick Oh being named a 2011 finalist for the Student Academy Award for his film "Heart." Oh graduated with distinction and is now an animator at Pixar Animation Studios.

The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (TFT) serves as a premier global interdisciplinary professional school that develops outstanding humanistic storytellers, industry leaders and scholars whose diverse, innovative voices enlighten, engage and inspire change for a better world. Consistently ranked as one of the top elite entertainment and performing arts institutions in the world, the School offers an innovative curriculum that integrates the study and creation of live performance, film, television and the digital arts. Our distinguished graduate and undergraduate programs include acting, directing, writing, producing, animation, cinematography, lighting design, set design, costume design and sound design, and the school offers Ph.D.s in theater and performance studies and in cinema and media studies.