Biola University opens on-campus film studio financed by fast food chain owner

The Christian university in southern California welcomed students back from summer with a state-of-the-art film facility on campus, funded largely by the president of In-N-Out Burger, according to a Tuesday statement. Biola’s Snyder School of Cinema & Media Arts, recognized by outlets like The Wrap and Variety as a top film school in the nation, thanked In-N-Out Burger Owner and President Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson for leading the donations. Snyder-Ellingson’s donation honored her grandmother, the film school’s namesake, and established an annual scholarship for aspiring film students at risk or in the foster care system, according to the school’s statement.

Biola University functioned as a private co-ed Christian university for over 110 years, and still required the university’s students and teachers to be professing Christians. Biola aimed to offer a Biblically centered education with intentional spiritual development, and was recognized by Christian Higher Education: An Empirical Guide as the most comprehensive Christian university, the school reported. Biola described the Snyder school as its fastest-growing school and its second-largest undergraduate program.

What will all the buildings include? The 45,463-square-foot building housed millions of dollars’ worth of equipment and rivaled some of the nation’s best media training education facilities, according to the university. The three-floor facility housed a 3,000-square-foot sound stage and a roughly 280-seat theater, along with recording stages for foley work, scoring, and motion capture. The facility also included spaces for color grading, audio mixing, editing, costuming, writing, and makeup, along with a game design lab. Biola marked another touchstone moment earlier this year, announcing its plan to merge with Phoenix Seminary to create the nation’s second-largest nondenominational seminary.

Dig deeper: Read my previous report in WORLD Magazine about the recent rise in Christian colleges closing down and merging with others over financial strains.