Visual Communications Technologies Faculty

Faculty introductions

Chuck Solem

Photography

(651)773-1754

chuck.solem@century.edu

I have been a faculty member in the Visual Communications Technologies Program at Century College since 1996. I am also a member of the Twin Cities Professional Photography Association. My specialty is both digital and film photography. My wife Karroll and I have owned a photography business since 1989, check out our web site at cksphotographyonline.com. I thank God every day for my successes and one of my favorite quotes is by Dewitt Jones, National Geographic Photographer "Lets celebrate what is right with the world rather than what is wrong." The most fulfilling part of teaching is seeing students become successful.

Randall Fane

Video

(651)773-1753

randy.fane@century.edu

John Kothera

Graphic Design

(651)779-5773

john.kothera@century.edu

I'm John Kothera, Instructor of Graphic Design and Computer Pre-press in the VCT Program. My BA from Cleveland State University is in Studio Art and Psychology. I earned an MFA from Tyler School of Art in Photography and frequently showed my work and ran my own photography business. My graphic design and computer prepress career started at a print shop whose primary clients were fine art photographers. One important career experience was overseeing the shop's transition from traditional photographic reproduction methods to digital methods. Understanding both allows my instruction to be better informed and rooted in the principles of quality image production.

Gary Ruggles

Multimedia and Web Design

(651)779-3421

gary.ruggles@century.edu

I have been teaching Web Design, Multimedia Authoring and 3d Animation as the Multimedia Instructor in the VCT Program since 1998. Before becoming a teacher, I spent twenty-five years in the VCT industry working as a graphic designer and multimedia artist. I also earned my Masters degree in Studio Painting and Drawing from California State University, Fresno during that time. I believe that my role as a Visual Communications instructor is a multi-dimensional one: communicator of knowledge, motivator of learning, and recognizer and facilitator of my students' creative aspirations.

Holly Borrelli

(651)773-1754

holly.borrelli@century.edu

My career in visual communications started in 1984. While working in a company that my brother and I started, we purchased a MacPlus to use for this new business venture. In various positions and freelance, I have had the pleasure of working in the visual communications field for over 16 years with clients such as Kodak, 3M, Bausch & Lomb, Texas Instruments, AT&T and Xerox. I graduated summa cum laude, from St. Cloud State University in 2003 with a Bachelors of Science in Information Media and a minor in graphic design. I believe successful design is based mostly on hard work, not purely on talent, and that creativity is a muscle that needs constant exercise to grow. These theories are emphasized in my classroom experience.