Jeff Van Hanken

Project Coordinator

Jeff Van Hanken MFA is Wellspring Associate Professor of Film Studies at the University of Tulsa. A filmmaker by training, Van Hanken has written, produced and directed short and feature films. In 2000, he produced The Heart of Los Angeles Film Project, a series of award-winning short films written and acted in by young Hispanic, Korean and African-American men from the Rampart district near downtown Los Angeles. In 2009, Van Hanken co-produced the feature film, “The Legend of Billy Fail,” based upon his original feature script. The film has won many awards including a 2010 Juried Screening Award of Merit from the University Film and Video Association. 

In 2015, Van Hanken organized a team that was named a National Finalist in the 2015 ArtPlace competition. Building on this work, Van Hanken founded and is Co-Director of CHAMP (The Center for Health, Arts and Measurement Practices) at The University of Tulsa. CHAMP is a research group that studies the potential impact that works of art may have on the health of a community. Van Hanken serves on the Advisory Committee for the Tulsa Artist Fellowship and is proud to serve on the Boards of the John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation and the Oklahoma Center for Humanities.

Van Hanken’s work in film, literature, public art and measurement practices is dependent on the idea that story acts as a catalyst and marker for private and public change. Van Hanken is Chair of the Arts/Culture Committee of the Tulsa Race Massacre Commission and is the Project Coordinator of The Greenwood Art Project.