• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Search

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington IU Bloomington

Open Search
  • About
    • Facilities
      • Franklin Hall
        • Commons
        • Studios
          • Ken and Audrey Beckley Studio
          • Ed Spray Control Room
          • Studio 8
          • Studio 9
          • Studio 10
          • Studio 11
        • Production Labs
        • Game Design Facilities
        • Equipment Checkout
        • Student Media Suite
        • WIUX
        • Institute for Communication Research
        • Screening Room
      • Radio-TV
        • Studio 5
        • Equipment Checkout
        • Production Lab
        • Film Editing Room
        • Other Facilities
      • Using Facilities
    • Our History
    • Collections
    • Student Advisory Council
    • Diversity
    • Join Our Team
    • Strategic Plan
      • Strategic Priorities
      • Process
    • Governance/Tenure and Promotion Policies
    • Contact
      • General Inquiries
      • Report an Issue
      • Request Photos & Materials
  • Admissions
    • Undergraduate Admissions
    • Graduate Admissions
    • Cost, Aid & Scholarships
    • Visit Us
    • Request Information
  • Academics
    • Undergraduate Programs
      • BA in Journalism
        • News Reporting & Editing
        • Public Relations
        • Social and Digital Media
      • BA in Media
        • Cinema and Media Studies
        • Fashion Media
        • Film, Television and Digital Production
        • Interactive and Digital Media
        • Media Advertising
        • Media Management, Law and Policy
        • Media Science
        • Media Technologies, Games and Culture
        • Sports Media
      • BFA in Cinematic Arts
      • BS in Game Design
    • Graduate Programs
      • M.S. in Media
        • Data Journalism
        • Documentary/ Nonfiction Production
        • Journalism
        • Management
        • Strategic Communication
      • M.A. in Media Arts & Sciences
      • Ph.D. in Media Arts & Sciences
    • Minors & Certificates
    • Honors Programs
    • Courses
    • Precollege Programs
  • Research
    • Centers, Affiliates & Partners
    • Student Opportunities
  • Career Prep
    • For Employers
    • Career Possibilities
    • Internships
  • Student Experience
    • Travel Opportunities
    • Student Work Gallery
      • Gallery Archive
    • Student Organizations
    • Media Living Learning Center
  • People
    • Leadership
    • Faculty Directory
    • Staff Directory
    • Graduate Student Directory
    • Student Ambassador Directory
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
  • Current Students
    • Advising
      • Undergraduate Advising
      • Graduate Advising
    • Career Prep & Internships
      • Finding Internships & Jobs
      • Job Listings
      • Applying for Internship Courses
    • Get Involved
      • Managing and Creating Organizations
      • Peer Mentors
      • Student Ambassadors
      • Graduate Association
      • Honors Programs
      • Part-Time Jobs
    • Courses & Registration
    • Scholarships & Financial Aid
      • Undergraduate Scholarships
      • Graduate Scholarships
    • Student Support
    • Technology
      • Game Design Laptops
      • Connect2 Troubleshooting
      • Course Websites
      • Website Profiles
    • Travel Opportunities
  • Alumni & Giving
    • Giving to the School
    • Media School Alumni Board
      • Nominations
    • Distinguished Alumni Awards
    • Alumni Stories
    • Class Notes
    • Subscribe to the Newsletter
    • LA Council Members
    • Scholarship Directory

The Media School

  • Home
  • About
    • Facilities
    • Our History
    • Collections
    • Student Advisory Council
    • Diversity
    • Join Our Team
    • Strategic Plan
    • Governance/Tenure and Promotion Policies
    • Contact
  • Admissions
    • Undergraduate Admissions
    • Graduate Admissions
    • Cost, Aid & Scholarships
    • Visit Us
    • Request Information
  • Academics
    • Undergraduate Programs
    • Graduate Programs
    • Minors & Certificates
    • Honors Programs
    • Courses
    • Precollege Programs
  • Research
    • Centers, Affiliates & Partners
    • Student Opportunities
  • Career Prep
    • For Employers
    • Career Possibilities
    • Internships
  • Student Experience
    • Travel Opportunities
    • Student Work Gallery
    • Student Organizations
    • Media Living Learning Center
  • People
    • Leadership
    • Faculty Directory
    • Staff Directory
    • Graduate Student Directory
    • Student Ambassador Directory
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
  • Search
  • Current Students
  • Alumni & Giving
  • Home
  • People
  • Profile

Claude Cookman

Professor Emeritus

Contact Information

Email:
ccookman@indiana.edu
Phone:
812 336-4851

Biography

Claude Cookman enjoyed a professional career in journalism of more than 18 years, primarily as a picture editor. Among other news organizations, he worked for the Associated Press in New York, The Louisville Times, The Louisville Courier-Journal and The Miami Herald. While picture editor of The Louisville Times, he shared in the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Photography awarded to the combined Times and Courier-Journal photography staff. In the early 1970s, he earned an MS from the Columbia School of Journalism, specializing in magazine writing. He returned to graduate school in the late 1980s, earning an MFA in art history and a Ph.D. in the history of photography, both from Princeton University. From fall 1990 through spring 2014, he taught visual communications in the School of Journalism at Indiana University, where he is now a professor emeritus. His teaching was recognized with 10 School, campus, IU system and national awards. He authored four books and numerous articles on French and American photojournalism, and pedagogy. He is most proud of serving on the board of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, including two years as chair. In retirement, he enjoys cooking, drawing and reading world literature. He hopes to return in his next incarnation as a pastry chef.

Education
  • Ph.D., Princeton University, Art and Archaeology Department, Jun 1994. Dissertation: The Photographic Reportage of Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1937-1973.
  • MFA, Princeton University, Art and Archaeology Department, Jan 1989. Art history with concentration in the history of photography.
  • More than 45 hours of post baccalaureate courses in art history and French, University of Louisville, 1978-1985.
  • MS, Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University, Jun 1971. Specialization in magazine writing.
  • AB, with high honors, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL, Jun 1965. Major in classical Greek, minor in philosophy.
Academic appointments and teaching positions
  • Indiana University School of Journalism, Professor, Jul 1, 2011 to May 31, 2014; Associate Professor, Jul 1, 2000; Assistant Professor, Aug 1994; lecturer, Aug 1990.
  • Associate member of the Graduate Faculty, Jan 1999.
  • Adjunct Associate Professor, Western European Studies, Fall 2009.
  • Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Art History, Fall 2008.
  • Preceptor, Princeton University Art and Archaeology Department, 1988–1989. Contemporary art, and nineteenth century painting and sculpture, three semesters.
  • Adjunct instructor, Barry University, Spring 1984. Photojournalism, one semester.
  • Visiting professional, University of Iowa, Spring 1981. Picture editing.
  • Adjunct instructor, Western Kentucky University, 1979, 1980. Picture editing, two semesters.
Professional experience
  • Copy editor, The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY, Sep 1984 to Aug 1986.
  • Graphics editor, The Miami Herald, Apr 1981 to Sep 1984.
  • Picture editor, The Louisville Times, Nov 1974 to Mar 1981.
  • Copy editor, The Herald-Journal, Syracuse, NY, Sep 1973 to Nov 1974.
  • Picture editor, The Associated Press, New York, Jun 1971 to Aug 1973, supervisor of photo desk operation on night shift.
  • Reporter-photographer, The Anderson Herald, Anderson, IN, Oct 1968 to Sep 1970 and Jul to Oct 1965.
  • U. S. Army, Nov 1965 to Sep 1968; commissioned through Infantry OCS at Fort Benning, Ga., assistant adjutant for a personnel operation, executive officer for a personnel services company; Vietnam tour, 1967–1968.
Honors and awards
  • Gretchen A. Kemp Teaching Fellowship, Indiana University School of Journalism, 2012, 2007, 1993.
  • President’s Distinguished Teaching Award, Indiana University, 1999.
  • Robin F. Garland Educator Award from the National Press Photographers Association, 1999.
  • Teaching Excellence Recognition Award (TERA), Indiana University, 1998, 1999, 2000.
  • Elected to the IU Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching (FACET), 1996.
  • IU Alumni Association Student Choice Award for distinguished teaching, 1994.
  • Shared in the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography awarded to combined photographic staff of The Courier-Journal and The Louisville Times, 1976.
  • Wheaton College Scholastic Honor Society, 1964.
Teaching fellowships and grants
  • Scholarship of Teaching and Learning grant from Indiana University’s Office of the Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculties to support a study of Just in Time Teaching in a History of Twentieth Century Photography course, 2006–2007.
  • Grant from Pew Inquiry Circle through Instructional Support Services, IUB for developing a Course Portfolio, Summer 2004.
  • Active Learning Grant from IU Instructional Support Services to prepare a website for a history of photography course, summer 2001.
  • Scholarship of Teaching and Learning grant, IU Bloomington, 1999-2000.
  • IU Instructional Development Summer Fellowship to develop a three-hour course in informational graphics, 1996.
Books
  • American Photojournalism: Motivations and Meanings. Chicago: Northwestern University Press, 2009.
  • An American Family: Three Decades with the McGarveys. Washington: National Geographic Society, 2009.
  • Werner Bischof 55. London: Phaidon, 2001.
  • A Voice Is Born: The Founding and Early Years of the National Press Photographers Association Under the Leadership of Joseph Costa. Durham, N.C.: National Press Photographers Association, 1985.

Related News

  • Professor Emeritus Cookman curates “Intimate Alchemy”
  • ‘Wild Horse Running: The Courageous Journey of Tom Fox’ curated by Cookman on exhibit
  • Cookman curates virtual exhibition on IU alumnus’s life with AIDS
  • Portrait of the teacher as an artist
  • Leadership
  • Faculty Directory
  • Staff Directory
  • Graduate Student Directory
  • Student Ambassador Directory

The Media School social media channels

  • Faculty & Staff Intranet
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

Indiana University

Accessibility | College Scorecard | Privacy Notice | Copyright © 2025 The Trustees of Indiana University