Cary Granat, the co-founder and former CEO of Walden Media, has been selected as the next dean of the University of Texas at Austin’s Moody College of Communication, the university announced Tuesday.
Granat will begin the role Sept. 28, bringing more than three decades of experience across film, media, education and entrepreneurship to the position.
Granat helped build Walden Media into a global family entertainment company, overseeing films including “The Chronicles of Narnia,” “Charlotte’s Web” and “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” as well as oceanographic films made with James Cameron. His career has spanned film, publishing, educational programming and other media ventures.
“Cary brings a remarkable range of experience across the worlds of media, education and enterprise, united by a lifelong commitment to storytelling and communication,” William Inboden, executive vice president and provost, said in a statement. “Communication and media are undergoing profound changes driven by new technologies and new ways of creating, distributing and consuming information. Cary understands those changes firsthand, while also appreciating the enduring importance of rigorous scholarship, excellent teaching and preparing our students to lead.”
Before co-founding Walden, Granat served as president and chief operating officer of Miramax-Dimension Entertainment. During his tenure, he helped transform Dimension Films into a media enterprise spanning film, music and publishing, and produced, developed and launched films and franchises including “Scream,” “Scary Movie” and “Spy Kids.”
Granat is currently co-founder and co-CEO of Austin-based Egeria Media, a family entertainment studio. He is also a founding partner of “Eyes of the World: The Jerry Garcia Experience,” an immersive touring production celebrating the life and legacy of the Grateful Dead guitarist.
“I am deeply humbled by the opportunity to serve as dean of the Moody College of Communication,” Granat said in a statement. “Our students and faculty are among our most cherished treasures, and Moody has extraordinary strength in both. We are at a unique moment when the integrity and impact of communication are increasingly consequential to our daily lives.”
His academic experience includes teaching courses on propaganda analysis, media influence and persuasion at Bar-Ilan University and serving for 15 years on the steering council of Tufts University’s Film and Media Studies program.
“Cary Granat brings industry depth to the role at a time when Texas media and communication industries are on the rise and influencing the discipline far beyond our state,” Ramón Rivera-Severa, dean of the College of Fine Arts and consultative committee chair, said in a statement.
Granat succeeds Interim Dean Anita Vangelisti, who has led the Moody College since August 2024. Vangelisti will remain at the college as senior associate dean for academic affairs.
Moody was ranked the No. 1 public university in the U.S. for communication and media studies in the 2026 QS World University Rankings by Subject.
