MUMBAI: The board of governors of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has elected new officers for the 2010-11 term, which begins 7 January, 2010.

Television Academy chairman & CEO John Shaffner was re-elected to a second two-year term. Prior to his first term, Shaffner had served as a governor in the art directors and set decorators peer group for five years. He became a governors’ appointee to the Executive Committee, and had been elected for successive terms as both second vice chair and vice chair for the Television Academy.

Shaffner and his partner, Joe Stewart, are among the most recognized production designers in television, having received 29 Emmy nominations for their work over the course of their careers, as well as three Primetime Emmy Awards for David Copperfield specials and The George Lopez Show; two Daytime Emmy Awards for The Ellen DeGeneres Show; and one Los Angeles Area Emmy Award. Their designs for the 2006 Primetime Emmy Awards were recognized with the Art Directors Guild Award, and they have received numerous Art Directors Guild and Cable Ace nominations.

Shaffner and Stewart designed the series The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Friends, The Drew Carey Show and Dharma and Greg, among many others. They have designed specials for numerous artists, from Perry Como and Andy Williams to Celine Dion and Willie Nelson. In addition, their work is visible throughout the year on such programs as the American Music Awards, the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon and the Miss Universe telecasts.

Shaffner has been recognized as an Outstanding Alumnus of the University of Montana, where he earned a B.F.A., and is the recipient of the university’s School of Fine Arts Odyssey Award. He has also been recognized with the Alumni Merit Award from Carnegie Mellon University, where he received an M.F.A. He began his career in New York and regional theater, designing for the New York Shakespeare Festival in Central Park and the Seattle Repertory Theatre.