Department News

From the Department Chair

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Beering Documentary

New Course Offered

SPJ Revived

Redding Fellowship

The Communicator is the official newsletter of the Purdue University Department of Communication and produced by students in COM252H under adviser Jane Gibson Natt

PURDUE ALUMNUS COMMUNICATES 
THROUGH INDEPENDENT FILM 

By Lauren Knicker

Len Cox's love for documentary films began in the late '70s when he was an undergraduate at Purdue.  Walking by an information post board, Cox was drawn to a small paper advertising the showing of  "Harlan County USA," a documentary by Barbara Kopple.  He went to the film that night, and left a changed man.  

"It was then I realized that my true love was making documentary films," Cox said.  

Following his dream, Cox has established River Films, a small, privately owned film company. River Films produces, creates and distributes documentary films about social issues.

Along with his partner, Macky Alston, Cox produced a film titled, "Family Name."  This documentary focused on two family reunions of Alston's in North Carolina:  one of white relatives, the other of black descendants of the Alston slave owners.  This film won first prize for a documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, known internationally as a showcase for the best in American independent film, in 1997, and also received an Emmy nomination in 1999.

Cox is currently producing a documentary about faith in the face of tragedy. Cox said the film follows the lives of five people, all confronting a crisis, all struggling with their own faith or spirituality. The film will be completed in 2001.

"Len Cox fundamentally believes in caring for people and using communication to work through the most difficult of times," said Cynthia Stohl, head of the Department of Communication at Purdue.

Although Cox has always loved filmmaking, it's still not his "day job."

Cox has spent much of his life in the corporate world. Since receiving a bachelor of arts in communication with a specialization in mass communication from Purdue in 1979, Cox has served in a variety of communication-related roles.  He has served as the director of external relations for Purdue University's School of Science; a staff writer for the Indiana lieutenant governor's office, and the director of corporate communication for NBC in New York.

While some might think Cox exchanged his corporate life for an artistic one, in reality, he did not.  He said he uses his corporate experiences in his filmmaking career every day.

"One hundred percent of my filmmaking day is spent communicating to other people, companies, TV corporations, movie editors, staff and crew," Cox said. "Communication is the most important part of my job."

After completing his second degree, a master's degree in organizational communication from Purdue, in 1994, Cox joined a group of friends and colleagues at Applied Research & Consulting LLC, a consulting firm in Soho in New York City.  He remains as senior consultant, but it is his filmmaking that interests people the most.

And it is filmmaking that Cox enjoys the most, too.

"It is a constant challenge for me.  I love it, though, because it gives me a way to be creative by telling stories through the eyes of people," Cox said.  "It allows me to make an impact, and to express the artist inside of me."

Cox also devotes many hours of his time to charity work.  He volunteers to work with the development of a city neighborhood food bank, and works with the homeless.  For the past 13 years, Cox has spent his Saturday nights at "The Dwelling Place," a shelter for homeless women in New York City.  He not only mentors these women, but also is responsible for donating flowers during different times of the year, like Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day and Valentine's Day.

Cox continues to be connected to Purdue as well.  He contributes to the School of Liberal Arts and often comes back to guest lecture in communication classes.

"When one looks carefully at Len Cox's professional career since leaving Purdue, you continue to find the same degree of excellence, compassion and caring," Stohl wrote when she nominated him for the 1999 Distinguished Alumni Award.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT RIVER FILMS AND LEN COX: