51ĀŅĀ×

The Scripps College of Communication's School of Visual Communication is celebrating 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. 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.

ā€œThe 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 51ĀŅĀ×,ā€ said Scottā€™s son-in-law, Professor Emeritus Terry Eiler BFA ā€™66, MFA ā€™69, who was Scottā€™s partner in starting the Visual Communication program at 51ĀŅĀ×.

The exhibit showcases Scottā€™s work, along with a timeline of his life and even allows Scott to tell his own story on historic videos.

ā€œWhen 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 werenā€™t thought of as visual journalists,ā€ said Eiler. ā€œBut during Chuckā€™s career, that changed. He went from assignment photographer to staff photographer to visual journalist to newsroom manager.ā€

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.

ā€œAnd once he started at 51ĀŅĀ×, he continued making an impact on the field,ā€ said Eiler. ā€œHe trained many students who are now working everywhere in the industry and have received more than 40 Pulitzer Prizes.ā€

Pictures on display at the exhibit include some Scott captured of the 51ĀŅĀ× campus riots in 1970, as well as iconic sports photographs Scott took during his career. There are also three historic cameras on display.

Image

ā€œItā€™s worth going to walk through the exhibit just to see the old cameras,ā€ said Eiler with a chuckle. ā€œThey are Chuckā€™s old cameras, and they are just so interesting and amazing to see in person.ā€

The exhibit opened on Sept. 4 with a reception where Eiler spoke and shared memories of Scott. The exhibit will close on Sept. 30.

ā€œItā€™s hard to underestimate what he did to change the education of visual journalism throughout the country,ā€ said Eiler. 

The VisCom Focus Gallery is open Monday ā€“ Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hours are sometimes extended to accommodate events.