Gamble-liam-obrien

From New England News Forum

William "Liam" O'Brien is a media-production professor at Quinnipiac University. He organized the production and student filming of a 35-minute, docu-drama, "21", under a $25,000 grant from the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambing. The drama, which follows the experience of student gamblers, will be screened immediately prior to the Tues., March 11, 2008, evening symposium at Quinnipiac. "The casinos funded a good bit of it and gave us access," O'Brien says.

O'Brien has taught at Qinnipiac for seven years. He spent 16 years in Hollywood, and earlier was a theater and film professor at Western Illinois University and Hampshire College. A native of Hamden, Conn., he received his MFA from The Art Institute of Chicago, a master's from the University of Rhode Island and a bachelor's from Fairfield University.

He was recognized by the National Association of Broadcast Educators for his documentary, "Schweitzer: My Life is My Argument," a project for which O'Brien was producer, director, and writer. "We spent a year trying to figure out how to articular Albert Schweitzer to a general audience," he says. The documentary has aired on PBS stations in Springfield, Hartford and elsewhere.

To reach O'Brien, call 203-582-8438 or e-mail him at lobrien@quinnipiac.edu