Ryan Coogler and Tracy Oliver, who are both University of Southern California alumni, have joined the School of Cinematic Arts Board of Councilors.
The writer, director and producer, known for Black Panther, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Creed, is a two-time Oscar nominee. He credited the school for all the skills he has used during his more than a decade-long career.
“I’m incredibly grateful to Dean Daley, Kevin Feige, and Donna Langley for this esteemed opportunity, and I am excited to be joining alongside my friend Tracy Oliver, who has blazed her own incredible trail in film and television,” Coogler said. “I look forward to working with them and the other distinguished members of the board to support SCA’s continued pursuit of building the best environment for their students.”
Oliver is a writer, director and producer known for Girls Trip, Little, First Wives Club and Harlem. She was the first Black woman to ever write a film that grossed over $100 million at the box office.
“Attending USC’s School of Cinematic Arts forever changed my trajectory in the best way possible,” she said. ““As a proud alum, I’m very honored to be joining this esteemed board, alongside so many people I admire and excited to reunite with my old film school buddy, Ryan Coogler, whose incredible work inspired me back then and continues to today.”
Coogler, who graduated in 2011, and Oliver, in 2010, are the youngest alumni to join the Board. They join other industry notables on the Board, including Chairman Donna Langley, Chair Emeritus Frank Price, Sarah Bond, Kevin Feige, David Geffen, Jim Gianopulos, Brian Grazer, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Kathleen Kennedy, George Lucas, Bill M. Mechanic, Shonda Rhimes, John Riccitiello, Steven Spielberg, Kevin Tsujihara, John Wells and Robert Zemeckis.
“Ryan and Tracy have dominated the industry with their innovative craft and mastered the art of storytelling for a global audience,” said Langley, chairman of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and SCA’s Board of Councilors. “They wholly embody the attributions of the next generation of this board and our business.”
