Columbia film professor Lewis Cole, who is credited with transforming the film program at the School of the Arts during his time as its chair, died Friday afternoon from complications of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was 62.

Cole began teaching screenwriting at Columbia in 1986 and was named chair of the film program in 1994. As chair, Cole restructured and refocused the program, transforming its curriculum from one that focused primarily on writing to one where students learned the fundamentals of filmmaking. Under Cole’s direction, current chair Jamal Joseph said, the program began to lay a more sturdy filmmaking foundation for students, teaching them the basics of both writing and production while emphasizing dramatic narrative techniques. Cole recruited experienced filmmakers as faculty and built a diverse student body. He also taught the “Elements of Dramatic Narrative” class for first-year film students, and as a result “literally taught every student,” Joseph said.

“I can’t emphasize enough how he really reached out to make sure that the program was the most diverse and interesting that it could be,” Joseph said.

As a student at Columbia College, Cole participated in the 1968 protests before graduating that same year. He penned 13 screenplays along with writer Rafael Yglesias, published four books, served as a film critic for The Nation, and founded the Mediterranean Film Institute, which is described on its Web site as “a center for activities that bring together emerging screenwriters and directors from Europe and the Mediterranean region.”

Dean of the School of the Arts Carol Becker described Cole as a “force” that drew in students and faculty alike.

“People really gravitated to Lewis because he embodied this really deep intellect, but also this moral and ethical component,” Becker said. He stood “at the heart of the film program.”

Becker and Joseph were unsure when a campus memorial service would take place but was hopeful that one would be organized by early November.

“He was involved with every member of the division, every student, every faculty member,” Joseph said. “He was so much more than just a teacher. He was a mentor, he was a guide.”

alix.pianin@columbiaspectator.com