Jack Corn

John Felton “Jack” Corn was born on January 14, 1929. A Nashville, Tennessee, native, Jack has had a prolific career as an educator, author, air force photographer, and renowned photojournalist. He spent many years at WKU as a professor of journalism. While on the Hill, he founded the Mountain People’s Workshop for photojournalism students in 1978. He retired as a Professional Photojournalist-in- Residence, a title he held from 1990 to 1995. In 2004, he was recognized by the Board of Regents as Photojournalism Professional-in-Residence of Journalism, Emeritus.

He served as the director of photography for the Chicago Tribune from 1984 to 1991. During this time, the Tribune began using editorial color on a daily basis and became the first paper in the USA to move electronic images for daily production. In addition to managing a staff of 55 to 60 people, he planned, directed, and budgeted the local, national, and international photographic coverage for the daily and 1,200,000 Sunday circulation.

Among Jack’s other many achievements, he was a contributing photographer for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Documerica project in the early 1970s, chief photographer and picture editor for two years and staff Photographer for 21 years at The Tennessean, and teacher at the Nashville State Technical Institute. He has completed freelance assignments for major publications including New York Times, Time, USIA, Philadelphia Inquirer, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, Boy’s Life, and Louisville Courier-Journal. He is also published in several hundred textbooks, anthologies, and foreign publications.

To honor all his work at WKU, the Department of Photojournalism established the Jack Corn Documentary Photojournalism Scholarship Fund in 1995. The fund assists deserving WKU students who are majoring in photojournalism. Through this fund, Jack’s legacy lives on in perpetuity.