Bing Gordon scores faculty chair at USC

More than just a pastime or a career, games have now become a scholastic pursuit. The University of Southern California recently created the first endowed chair for the study of gaming, the Associated Press reported today. The first person to hold the faculty seat will be Bing Gordon, chief creative officer and a founding member of Electronic Arts.

Establishing the position is the latest in a series of moves by the university to create an interdisciplinary study of gaming. In November of 2003, USC announced its school of engineering would offer undergraduate degrees in the study of video games.

In March of last year, EA revealed that it was donating a sizable chunk of money to USC's school of cinema-television to advance its burgeoning interactive media division. The contribution funded two facets of the program: the Electronic Arts Interactive Entertainment Program (a three-year Master's program) and the Electronic Arts Endowed Faculty Chair.