Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Mike Stewart of the Associated Press will headline a slate of professionals speaking at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga’s ninth annual Photo Night on March 5.
The Communication Department event also will feature former Sports Illustrated photographer and current Sony Electronics artisan of imagery Patrick Murphy-Racey, Chattanooga photographer and documentarian Kathleen Greeson, and Nashville portrait photographer and UTC alumna Jess Harris.
Photojournalist Billy Weeks, an associate lecturer at UTC who founded and runs the event, also will discuss his recent work at Photo Night.
Stewart was part of an AP team of photographers who won the Breaking News Photography Pulitzer Prize in 2021. They were awarded the prize for their work covering the George Floyd protests around the country during the summer of 2020.
Weeks will interview the experts about their professional experiences during the two-hour event.
“UTC’s Photo Night 2025 has a great line up of professional award-winning photojournalists, and our students have an opportunity to ask questions of reporters who have been on the front lines,” Weeks said. “Mike Stewart will be with UTC students most of the day. This is an important opportunity for our students, but also for the citizens of Chattanooga to attend this free event.”
The event also serves to showcase the work of the university’s photojournalism and Rising Rock students. Twelve students’ work will be featured in five videos during the program, and photojournalism students will display their photographs in the lobby of the Fine Arts Center during the evening.
Rising Rock, a website collaboration between the Communication Department and the university’s student-led media outlets, showcases multimedia, non-fiction student storytelling centered around Chattanooga. Weeks’ senior-level course, in which he mentors and coaches student creators, is at the heart of the Rising Rock program.
Rising Rock students have gone on to place in the Hearst Journalism Awards national writing and photography competitions. Two stories featured 2024 Photo Night – Made for Loving Kiss and Rocking the Rodeo – earned Hearst recognition in last year’s competition.
“The students are challenged to report and produce in a newsroom team environment by writing, photographing, NPR style audio, and by using video to convey an important story,” Weeks said. “It’s exciting to see the product of each team’s hard work.”
The UTC program placed 10th in the nation for reporting and writing in last year’s Hearst awards and took first place in all three student awards at the Society of Professional Jounalist’s East Tennessee chapter’s Golden Press Card Awards.
Doors open at 5 p.m., and the program begins at 6 p.m. in the Roland Hayes Concert Hall in UTC’s Fine Arts Center, 752 Vine St. The event is free and open to the public.
Donations made at Photo Night support the Rising Rock program: give.utc.edu/risingrock.
“Photo Night is our premiere event and a wonderful opportunity for the Chattanooga community to come together and celebrate the incredible work of our Rising Rock students,” said Erin Ryan, head of UTC’s communication department. “Not only does this event showcase the power of visual storytelling, but it also directly supports our students. Every dollar raised goes right back into Rising Rock, providing them with the resources and opportunities they need to continue developing their photojournalism skills.”
UTC’s Communication Department offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication and is home to approximately 400 majors and 150 minors. The nationally accredited program provides students with a skills-based, liberal arts education and prepares them for a variety of jobs in public communication and the mass media. Graduates of the program find success in a variety of careers, including journalism, photography, public relations, advertising, video and film production, publication and web design, and audio production.
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