Michael Austin is Assistant Professor of Media, Journalism and Film and Coordinator for the School of Communications Interdisciplinary Studies Program at Howard University in Washington, D.C.; he teaches undergraduate courses in radio/audio and music production, and sound design in the MFA Film program. He received a BM in Music Composition from the University of Texas at San Antonio, a MM in Music Theory from the University of Texas at Austin, and an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Humanities - Aesthetic Studies (specializing in Arts and Technology/Music) from the University of Texas at Dallas.