The Scripps College of Communication's School of Visual Communication recently celebrated what would have been the 100th birthday of one of its founders with a special exhibit in the VisCom Focus Gallery located on the first floor of Schoonover Center. The exhibit ran Sept. 4-30.
In 1978, Chuck Scott, a prolific news photographer, editor and professor, co-founded the Institute of Visual Communication that became, in 1986, the School of Visual Communication. Scott, who passed away in 2015, would have turned 100 years old on Aug. 18.
“The gallery committee thought it would be a good idea to celebrate Chuck by doing a show of his photographs, as well as a talk about how important he was to visual journalism in the industry and at Ohio University,” said Scott’s son-in-law, Professor Emeritus Terry Eiler BFA ’66, MFA ’69, who was Scott’s partner in starting the Visual Communication program at Ohio University.
The exhibit showcased Scott’s work, along with a timeline of his life and even allowed Scott to tell his own story on historic videos.
“When he started in the business after World War II, photographers were simply the people who showed up with cameras and decorated the pages of newspapers. They weren’t thought of as visual journalists,” said Eiler. “But during Chuck’s career, that changed. He went from assignment photographer to staff photographer to visual journalist to newsroom manager.”
Scott worked at some of the best visual newspapers in the country, including the Milwaukee Journal, the Chicago Daily News and the Chicago Tribune. During his 55-year career, he won more than 100 awards, including the National Press Photographers Association National Championship (1952) and Newspaper Editor of the Year (1966) awards.
“And once he started at Ohio University, he continued making an impact on the field,” said Eiler. “He trained many students who are now working everywhere in the industry and have received more than 40 Pulitzer Prizes.”
“It’s hard to underestimate what he did to change the education of visual journalism throughout the country,” said Eiler.
The above text was originally presented in Cheri Russo's "Chuck Scott exhibit on display in VisCom Focus Gallery" article, published on Sept. 13 (https://www.ohio.edu/news/2024/09/chuck-scott-exhibit-display-viscom-focus-gallery). You may also like “Thank you, Chuck Scott, for giving so many of us our roots.” by David Griffin September 18, 2024 (https://www.ohio.edu/scripps-college/viscom/chuck-scott-tribute).
You can honor Chuck's legacy by making a gift in his memory to the Charles L. Scott Endowed Scholarship Fund, supporting current and future Viscom students.
To donate by mail, mail a check payable to The Ohio University Foundation to The Ohio University Foundation, PO Box 869, Athens, OH 45701. Write Charles Scott Scholarship (52765161) on the memo line.