Spring/Summer 2013
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RIGHT Trustees Nahum Lainer (left) and Tom Rothman.
Introducing the Institute’s Newest Trustees NAHUM LAINER Los Angeles industrial real estate developer Nahum Lainer is a longtime philanthropist, patron of the arts, and art collector. “I have known about CalArts’ reputation as a leader in the arts, and I wanted to get involved,” Lainer says. “Higher education has always been important to me. I’m very much aware of the cost of it today and that’s probably one of the central issues facing CalArts: making quality education more affordable for students.” Born in Mexico City and raised in Beverly Hills, Lainer holds a bachelor’s degree and an mba from ucla. He was a certified public accountant with the influential Los Angeles firm Kenneth Leventhal & Co. before joining the family business, Lainer Investments. Started by his father Simha Lainer in the 1950s, the company specializes in developing, managing and leasing industrial properties, primarily in the San Fernando Valley. The company currently manages more than two million square feet of property used for warehousing, manufacturing and distribution as well as for the entertainment industry. Lainer and his wife Alice direct their philanthropy through their family foundation. They have supported the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Hammer Museum, Center Theatre Group, The Museum of Modern Art, American Friends of the Israel Museum, and Sinai Akiba Academy, among other organizations. As the Institute plans for the years ahead, Lainer is adding his considerable expertise to the board’s Buildings and Grounds Committee. “I hope that my background in business, accounting and real estate can help CalArts in the planning of future facilities and in developing a strategic plan.”
TOM ROTHMAN “I believe in the power of creativity,” says Tom Rothman, a Baltimore native and veteran Hollywood executive at various units of 20th Century Fox. “I grew up in an arts-centered home. My father founded Center Stage, the regional theater in Baltimore; my brother’s an actor; my wife, Jessica Harper, is an actress. So I’m a big believer in all of the arts, and it’s an honor to have the opportunity to serve on the board at CalArts—a school that shares in that belief.” Rothman was educated at Brown University and Columbia Law School, and, after a stint as partner in the New York firm of Frankfurt, Garbus, Klein & Seiz, he began his career in entertainment as a producer for Columbia Pictures. Rothman supervised filmmaking activities at Fox for 19 years, where he most recently served as chairman and ceo of Fox Filmed Entertainment. Rothman also founded the Fox Searchlight division in 1994, and has hosted the Fox Legacy television series. Some of the awardwinning movies made during his long tenure include Black Swan, Juno, The Devil Wears Prada, Sideways, Walk the Line, Boys Don’t Cry, and the box office juggernauts Avatar and Titanic. “I’ve been immersed in the digital universe for a long time, and have experience in that field to contribute,” Rothman says. “I’ve been studying online distance-learning—an area of particular interest to CalArts.” Rothman is serving on the Institute’s Ad Hoc Online Education Committee and the Committee on Trustees.