NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Video gaming reached official academic status Tuesday when Electronic Arts endowed a chair at the University of Southern California for the study of interactive entertainment.
Bing Gordon, Chief Creative Officer and co-founder of Electronic Arts (Research), was named the first holder of the Electronic Arts endowed faculty chair at the USC School of Cinema-Television, according to a statement from the company, the biggest video game publisher.
The USC School of Cinema-Television already offers programs in directing, producing, writing, animation and digital arts, interactive media and other areas.
The Electronic Arts endowed faculty chair will be a rotating position that will be held for one to two years by industry leaders in the field of interactive entertainment who will join the school's faculty as visiting professors.
"A leader in the game industry for more than 20 years, Bing once again is making history as the inaugural holder of the first-ever endowed chair at a university for the study of electronic gaming and interactive entertainment," USC Dean Elizabeth Daley said in the statement.
Since co-founding Redwood City, Calif.-based EA in 1981, Gordon has played a role in the development of nearly every game the company has published.
Gordon also has co-taught a "Video game Prototype Design" class at Stanford University and is a trustee at the Urban School of San Francisco.
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