Moody College of Communication appoints new dean

Media executive Cary Granat will become the dean of the Moody College of Communication, beginning Sept. 28, William Inboden, executive vice president and provost, announced Monday. Granat is a producer, entrepreneur and consultant who has worked in media for over 30 years.

Inboden sent an email to Moody students on Monday announcing Granat’s hiring. Inboden also thanked Interim Dean Anita Vangelisti, who has held the position since August 2024.

“I begin my journey with gratitude, humility, an unlimited capacity for curiosity, and a commitment to supporting the outstanding faculty, research, staff, facilities, and ambitions of our extraordinary students,” Granat wrote Monday in an email to Moody faculty and students.

Granat graduated from Tufts University in Massachusetts in 1990 with three Bachelor of Arts degrees in international relations, drama and political science. He then worked for Tufts for 15 years and helped develop their Film and Media Studies program. Granat also taught classes on propaganda analysis, media influence and persuasion at Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Granat served as chief operating officer of Dimension Films, a division of Miramax, from 1995 to 2000. He then co-founded and served as CEO of Walden Media, which contributed to movies including “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” “Charlotte’s Web” and “Journey to the Center of the Earth.”

Granat is also founder and CEO of Austin-based movie studio Egeria Media and founded EMH Consulting Group, a firm that advises other countries’ governments on building their national media industries.

“There is a common thread amongst my past experiences of creating the trust and integrity of how ideas are communicated,” Granat wrote in his email.

According to his LinkedIn, Granat serves as a board member and mentor for a company that created an AI platform for screenwriting.

“Cary brings not only a deep understanding of how stories are created and shared, but also … how we can better prepare students to lead in the evolving fields they will enter,” Inboden wrote. “His appointment will also bring our students the benefit of a leader who understands these fields from multiple perspectives: as a creator, executive, entrepreneur, educator, and partner to universities and other institutions.”

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