Jack Corn, a retired WKU photojournalism professor, teacher, author and mentor known for his ability to help young people grow to become successful photojournalists, died July 1, 2025 at 96-years-old.

Not only does Corn leave behind a legacy of his own work, but he has also influenced the education and careers of many who came in contact with him over the course of his life and is known for helping grow WKU’s photojournalism program into a nationally recognized program.

Born on Jan. 14, 1929, and a Nashville, Tennessee, native, Corn began his career working for The Tennessean as a staff photographer for over two decades and as the chief photographer and picture editor for two years. He was the director of photography at the Chicago Tribune from 1984-1991. 

Corn served in the U.S. Air Force for two years during the Korean War and attended the Air Force photo school at Lowery Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado, while in the Tennessee National Guard. 

Throughout his career, he covered the civil rights movement in Nashville and poverty in Appalachia. He was one of 70 photographers who worked on the Documerica project with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to showcase the state of the environment at the time and ways to improve it, according to the National Archives. 

Corn served as a photojournalism professor for Western Kentucky University’s journalism department from 1976-1984, and he helped build the foundation for WKU’s nationally recognized Mountain Workshops for photojournalism students and professionals. Before his retirement, he served as a professor-in-residence at WKU from 1990-1995. 

Corn was recognized by the WKU’s Board of Regents in 2004 as photojournalism professional-in-residence of journalism, emeritus.

Rick Loomis, one of Corn’s former photojournalism students at WKU and a photographer for 20 years, said that he owes his entire career to Corn after he recommended him for a job at the Los Angeles Times right out of college. 

“Looking back, that set my entire career, just one man who was respected in the community says something to somebody else and all of a sudden you get your shot,” said Loomis, a 2007 Pulitzer Prize winner and member of the WKU Hall of Distinguished Alumni. “I owe him everything.” 

A respected teacher in the classroom, Corn was known for his strict, but intentional ways of teaching.

“He was demanding and not everybody responds to that type of push,” Loomis said. “He wasn’t the type of person who was going to let you slip and get by with something, so I just really respected him for that.”

Carrie Pratt, now the adviser of the College Heights Herald at WKU, was in Corn’s final class before his retirement in 1995. 

“I learned tenacity from Jack. He didn’t sugar coat photojournalism or jobs outside of college at all. He was direct in teaching us that it was a hard profession to enter,” Pratt said. “In turn, this personally taught me so much more about how to handle life and prepared me for the ups and downs. His funny one-liners, like ‘fish or cut bait,’ always made us think and his feedback was always on point.”

Not only did Corn leave a lasting impression on his students, but also those who taught alongside him.

Mike Morse, the former director of the photojournalism program at WKU, who initially hired Corn as a photojournalism professor, recalled what it was like to work with him. 

“He was well respected among the people in the professional world and newspapers, and that was an important ingredient of our program,” Morse said. “He had a great personality that drew people to him, and that worked out good because he was great with students.

Corn won many awards and recognitions throughout his lifetime, including local, national, and international awards every year from 1955-1977, according to his website. 

He received numerous awards from the National Press Photographer Association including the Joseph Costa Award in 1983, the Robin F. Garland Educator Award in 1993 and the Joseph A. Sprague Memorial Award in 1995. He also served on the NPPA Board of Directors as a region six representative from 1972-1976. 

Tim Broekema, a current photojournalism professor at WKU, said that Corn played a major role in Broekema getting hired at the Chicago Tribune by inviting him to visit the publication, and then again years later at WKU.

“I never worked with Jack, but Jack was essential for my career,” Broekema said. “He got me hired in Chicago, he was one of the main forces bringing me to Western.” 

Morse said that someone like Corn, who has published work in top newspapers and publications around the country, benefited the program and the graduates. 

“We all tried to earn the respect of the newspaper world so that students would be accepted from our program into some of the top newspapers in the world like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Washington Post,” Morse said. “There are program graduates at just about every newspaper there is and Jack was part of the team that made that possible.” 

Bob Adams, a now retired adviser of the College Heights Herald and director of Student Publications, worked closely with Corn when they owned a paper together in Cumberland County. 

“If you look in the dictionary under photographer, you won’t find his name,” Adams said. “You’ve got to go to a photojournalist, because he was certainly a journalist who took pictures.” 

Adams, a long time news reporter, recalled how Corn never failed to get to know his subjects while on assignment. 

“Interviewing somebody was kind of an easy job because as he was shooting pictures, he was asking questions and gathering information,” Adams said. “You don’t find too many people who are curious and interested and feel comfortable asking questions.”

When interviewed by the National Archive in 2013 about his Documerica project, Corn opened up about one of his key points when facing new people almost everyday. 

“You have to treat everybody with great respect, treat everybody the same. Sometimes people who are college-educated, the things they say are less profound than what people in the mountains say,” Corn said. “People, if you take time and talk to them, there’s a lot more depth to them than people think.” 

A celebration of life will be held Saturday, July 19 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Connell United Methodist Church in Goodlettsville. Visitation will begin at 11 a.m. and the service will begin at 1 p.m. with a reception to follow.