Written by Amira Sahba, Photos by Raye Ebensteiner
In 2010, Professor Oscar Betancur, M.F.A. Film and Motion Media Design 2012, started his journey as a student at the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD). Before that, Betancur worked as an art director, creative director and an officer in the advertising and marketing industry. His two year master program led him to fall in love with SCAD and its culture.
Betancur began teaching in 2004 at a night school in Philadelphia. “I always say that my students are the ones that inspired me to be a full-time faculty member,” Betancur said. “When I submitted my thesis, I was invited to stick around, and that’s where my SCAD journey really began.”
Betancur found a passion for art in his early life. He picked up dry media at four years old, then in first grade realized he wanted to pursue graphic arts. “From that moment on, art and design has been a lifelong pursuit. From illustration to painting, graphic arts, commercial arts, and finally advertising, marketing, film, motion media and digital,” Betancur said. “I always joke around and say I have been working digital since ’83 because I started working on my first computer when I was 11.”
The professor’s creative endeavors continued while he perused graphic arts in high school and college. As his projects became more digitized, Betancur described a seamless transition between pencil and mouse. “Do what you love and love what you do,” Betancur said.
Although many doubt their passions and career choices, Betancur seldom questioned his path. “I felt very blessed from [childhood] that I knew what I wanted to do with my career. I am a first-generation North American, so I didn’t start speaking fluent English until I was in second grade. I fell in love with art and design at a young age because I could communicate with pictures, and that turned into a lifelong pursuit of being a storyteller and visual communicator, it is my DNA.”
From eLearning to motion media, Betancur collaborates with several departments at SCAD. The professor has also taught within fashion marketing and management, luxury fashion and management, business of beauty and fragrance and social strategy and management. “I get to work with so many talented students, thinkers and leaders,” Betancur said.
In August 2019, SCAD offered Betancur the position of Associate Chair of Social Strategy and Management. “I thought it was a great opportunity to work with something new and cutting edge while bringing my expertise into the program. It felt like the next natural progression,” Betancur said.
“My favorite part of teaching in all the majors is the interdisciplinary collaboration with our students and faculty.”
Under his leadership, students produced award-winning fashion films, garnered CLIOS and Student Emmys. “One of my favorite things I get to do at SCAD is bring talent together to create professional-level work,” Betancur said. “The ultimate reward is mentoring students with diverse cultures and seeing them produce award-winning projects.”
Edited by Jordan Petteys and Leila Scott
