WKU News

THE MARGARET AND CAL TURNER PROFESSOR IN JOURNALISM was established through a $500,000 gift from Margaret and Cal Turner Jr. in 2003. The professorship is in one of WKU’s most nationally prominent programs, the School of Journalism & Broadcasting within the Potter College of Arts & Letters.

“My education in Scottsville, Ky., was largely rendered by Western Kentucky University teachers. Thankful for that contribution to our lives, Margaret and I are honored to invest in that fine Western educational heritage for future generations,” Cal Turner said. He is the former Chairman and CEO of Dollar General Corp. The gift was matched by $500,000 from the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Regional University Excellence Trust Fund, creating a total endowment of $1 million for the Turner Professorship.

Loup Langton served as Director of the School of Journalism & Broadcasting at Western Kentucky University from 2011 until 2017. His career reflects a balance between professional and creative work as well as research with a particular passion for Latin America. His book, Photojournalism and Today’s News, continues to receive excellent international reviews and is used in college classrooms across the Americas and Europe. Langton and Ecuadorian friend Pablo Corral Vega created and direct the POY Latam visual journalism contest that is the largest and most prestigious contest of its kind in Ibero America. More than 1,900 photographers entered the most recent POY Latam contest that was judged in Barcelona, Spain, during the week of May 21, 2017. Langton and Corral also co-directed the highly successful Descubriendo Ecuador book project and have organized a number of prestigious workshops throughout Latin America. As Director of Photography for Copley Chicago Newspapers, Langton helped lead a team that twice produced the Pictures of the Year International Newspaper Photographer of the Year, and as Director of Visuals for the newspaper El Universo, he helped change the concept of visual storytelling in Ecuador.

Since 2005 the international photojournalism organization, World Press Photo, has invited him to Amsterdam each year to interview their annual photojournalism and multimedia award winners. The interviews are featured on the World Press Photo website and have won multiple awards. As a freelance photographer and editor Langton contributed to several photographic books and was published in numerous international publications. In addition, his work has appeared in exhibitions in New York and Washington, D.C. Langton served on faculty at the University of Missouri School of Journalism and at the University of Miami School of Communication. He received his Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Texas School of Communication in 1994.