Award-Winning Faculty: Milton Santiago 

One of the first tenets of Milton Santiago’s teaching philosophy puts an emphasis on encouraging students to take risks. Then, he’ll teach them the skills to master the field of cinematography. 

“Students need to take big creative swings free from the fear of failure. I want students to know that they can take creative risks in their projects and that I’ll support them every step of the way,” said Santiago, an assistant professor of visual communications. 

Santiago earned the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Teaching Recognition Award for Early Performance this past spring; the honor symbolizes teaching excellence among tenure-track faculty in their first five years; promotes teaching excellence; and encourages a culture of collegial mentoring among members of the Syracuse faculty. 

“I am incredibly grateful to have been tapped for this recognition,” Santiago said. “I love working with students, so what I have drawn from the award more than anything is encouragement. I am energized that the atmosphere I strive to create in my classroom is helping students find their power in visual storytelling.” 

After a 15-year career as a content creator, director of photography and then professor at Columbia College Hollywood in Los Angeles, Santiago brought his expertise east to the Newhouse School in 2021. 

Santiago is inspired by his students each day. He strives to have his students absorb lessons in the classroom and use all they’ve learned to tell moving stories.  

“Nothing we do [in class] goes to waste,” he said. He wants students to walk away from their time in his classroom by embracing their own abilities to confidently tell stories. 

“Cinematography and visual communication are powerful vessels for the telling of diverse stories reflecting a multiplicity of perspectives and experiences,” he said. “Through this discipline, students can learn to make the specific universal and in doing so evoke emotions in their audiences that lead to understanding, empathy and impact.” 

This is the fourth in a series of four stories about Newhouse faculty honored by Syracuse University in 2024 for teaching and research excellence.