James "Jim" Keeshen is a full-time professor of Animation at Santa Monica College's Academy of Entertainment and Technology (AET). He has been employed at SMC since Spring Semester 1987. Around 1998, Keeshen became the first full-time faculty member and chairman at AET. He participated in setting up the curriculum and advising on hardware and software purchases.

Keeshen worked with Distance Education to create online courses with eCollege. He currently teaches Storytelling, Storyboards, and Introduction to Animation. He received a B.A. degree from UCLA in 1971.

Keeshen allegedly made AET into his own digital playground, using entertainment industry partners, faculty and students for his various personal projects (see list on left) and for his own financial gain under his company, Jim Keeshen Productions. He obtained federal and district taxpayers' dollars through secret consultant contracts with SMC under the fictitious names Animatics and Studio Animatics.

He produced the animated short Monkey Love. He sued Seth MacFarlane and Fox after producing the Family Guy pilot episode for them. His current animation project is The Day of the Dead (a.k.a., El Dia de Los Muertos), which is now being shown at various film festivals both locally and worldwide.