Gambill Distinguished Speaker Series Features Photojournalist
JONESBORO – National award-winning fine art photojournalist Kevin Pieper will return to Arkansas State University, Tuesday-Wednesday, March 10-11, for the Dr. Joel Gambill Distinguished Speaker Series.
Pieper graduated from A-State in 1994 and was one of Dr. Gambill’s star journalism students. He earned Bachelor of Science degrees in both journalism and zoology.
“I had Dr. Gambill for several classes and enjoyed the time I spent with him,” Pieper said. “I credit my time at A-State for any small modicum of success that I have enjoyed.”
Pieper, a biologist, has more than 25 years of experience combining his love of the natural world with his love for people, “exploring and illuminating the connections humans and all life on Earth share.”
He adds, “One planet. One love!”
Meanwhile, his book of nature images and essays is titled, “Connecting with Nature: Portraits and Essays on Nature and Man.”
He produces other editorial content on subjects ranging from adventure, personality profiles and human-interest pieces to trending topics. He is well-versed in multimedia content creation and the delivery of that content in the digital universe.
At the same time, Pieper has had some of his work published in Reader’s Digest, several National Geographic publications, Mother Earth News, the New York Times and USA Today.
Pieper lives in north-central Arkansas in the heart of the Ozarks. You can find him at pieperphoto.com.
About the Dr. Joel Gambill Alumni Speaker Series
The endowed Dr. Joel Gambill Distinguished Speaker Series is named after the 1965 A-State graduate who wanted to bring the media world to A-State students. Gambill was the first full-time instructor in journalism hired and spent four decades building the department into a national powerhouse. He served as department chair for 36 years.
His numerous awards and recognitions include being named Outstanding Educator by the Arkansas Press Association as well as the organization's highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award. Along with his dedication to education and journalism, he devoted his time and talent as official scorekeeper for A-State’s men's and women's basketball more than a quarter of a century. Equally passionate about tennis, he captained five Jonesboro teams to the state championship.
Though he has many interests, he is most well-known, as one newspaper editor said, as Arkansas's foremost journalism educator. It has been said that editors and publishers looking to fill positions on the staff were accustomed to calling Dr. Gambill first.
