Cronkite School Dedicates Wall Commemorating Crowder

The Cronkite School dedicated a memorial photo wall today in memory of 1980 Arizona State University graduate and longtime photojournalist Greg Crowder, who died in 2005 after a career at the Riverside Press-Enterprise in California. Crowder’s parents, Troy and Betsy Crowder of Chandler, established the Greg Crowder Photojournalism Award at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where Troy is a professor emeritus, to honor the life and spirit of their late son. The dedication of the wall memorializing Crowder took place at a reception for an invited audience on the third floor of the Cronkite School in downtown Phoenix, when the school honored recent ASU graduate Damien Maloney with the inaugural Greg Crowder Memorial Photojournalism Award. “Betsy and Troy wanted a way to appropriately celebrate him—and we’re just so honored that they chose to do it in this way, that will help not only these students, but the students for years and years to come,” said Dean Christopher Callahan in his remarks at the event. Maloney, a May graduate who said he got the bulk of his exposure to taking photos in photography roles at The State Press, ASU’s independent daily student newspaper, entered his photos in March and was selected as the top winner. As the winner, Maloney received a $1,000 prize and will have his winning work, in the form of eight photos, displayed on the third floor of the Cronkite School building for a year. Maloney said the award would advance his pursuit of photography, which he hopes will include more editorial and photojournalism work. “[The award] helped me already,” said Maloney. “The money helped me buy a new camera.” Additionally, Maloney said the award enabled him to document immigrant poor communities in the Philippines for a nonprofit during the summer. “I’m certain that this award will continue to provide resources for others to pursue otherwise unrealized photojournalism projects,” Maloney said as he accepted the award. Along with Maloney, three finalists were also recognized at the reception: Kara Horowitz, from Flagstaff, Ariz., who graduated in May; Matt Pavelek, of Glendale, Ariz., also a May graduate; and Branden Eastwood, of Washington, a senior this year. The winners were selected by a committee of faculty and professionals with an interest in photojournalism. The judges were Con Keyes, former photo editor of the Los Angeles Times; Brad Armstrong, the Buffett Visiting Professor of Photojournalism at the Cronkite School and former photo editor of the East Valley Tribune; and Cronkite School Associate Dean Kristin Gilger. “This award recognizes and encourages good photojournalism,” Gilger said. “We hope it inspires young people with a love and talent for visual journalism to follow in Greg’s footsteps.”