For the past 8 semesters, Ringling College’s film department has been gifted with the knowledge and presence of a beloved professor, Victor Simpkins.

Victor has radically changed the film department as a whole, his passion and talent for producing a driving point of both his career and our education. Its hard to put into words the impact that Victor has made, putting in countless hours and all of his effort into creating a space within the department where students not only thrive, but achieve above and beyond what could ever be expected from a four year undergraduate experience.

The care and attention to each individual students work that he puts in is astounding, and the work that is curated from that cannot be denied as anything other than stellar. Not giving Victor the position that he so rightfully has earned, is taking away a professor who has transformed innumerable lives and is robbing current as well as future students of an education that is sure to radicalize the industry. The poise and professionalism that Victor instills within his students not only prepares them for the coming years, but grants them with the knowledge of not just how to succeed — but how to excel.

The alumni that have come from under Victor’s wing have shaped the future of Ringling, presenting the school with a pool of industry professionals that are continuously impressing upon film as a workforce.

We, as a student body, not only believe that Victor is an essential and undeniable asset to our education, but is the foundation upon which our careers are built. He has earned this position tenfold, and we hope that the administration can see that not just throughout his work but the product of that work — students with an unwavering drive to break glass ceilings and create breathtaking art.  

Signing this petition is a plead to the administration, as a student body and alumnus group, to be gifted with the continued presence of Victor Simpkins as a professor and invaluable asset to this department.