• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, November 5, 2009

It’s everything. That’s right, a panel of digital arts gurus and practitioners speaking during a panel at the iDMAa 09 conference Thursday afternoon said their own backgrounds emphasized general studies and liberal arts that all fused together in a greater whole.

Despite the art school appearances of Dale Herigstad’s shocking white hair and all-black attire, the Schematic chief creative officer said he actually got a Bachelor of Science degree, and studies a variety of liberal arts courses while his peers were going to art schools.

Same thing for former Schematic Chief Strategy Officer Kurt Kratchman, who is now running online air show community site ASB.TV, and is about to launch a revolutionary new IPTV platform. He studied liberal arts and Jewish studies. And before he jumped on the interactive media front, got his first job helping the city of New York manage traffic (the automobile kind, not the media-buying kind).

Same thing for Michael Adamson, vice president of sports new products and services at Turner Sports, who is actually an alum of Ball State, where the iDMAa conference is taking place. He studied liberal arts too, and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in journalism.

Herigstad may look like he's from art school, but he's not.