Contact: Maridith Geuder
Fred Faulk
When he died last November after a brief illness, veteran Mississippi State photographer Fred Y. Faulk left a collection of work covering more than three decades at the Starkville institution.
An Oct. 7-29 public exhibition will honor his career and contributions to the university. Displayed in the College of Architecture, Art and Design gallery at Giles Hall, the memorial display will feature more than 50 black-and-white and color images.
An Oct. 7 opening reception will take place 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the gallery, which also will be open the following day [the 8th] during early 2004 Homecoming activities. Gallery hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays.
"Mississippi State is a complex institution with academic and research programs in areas ranging from agriculture to supercomputing," said longtime colleague Russ Houston, who succeeded Faulk as coordinator of photography in the Office of University Relations. "As visitors will see, Fred's work touched on every varied aspect in the life of the institution."
In surveying thousands of Faulk images, Houston said he came to appreciate a consistent theme--the photographer's love for outlying regions of the campus. "Over and over, he returned to the North and South farms, often at sunset or sunrise," he observed.
Final selection for the collection was done in collaboration with Faulk's daughter Leah, a visiting assistant professor of architecture at Mississippi State.
Fred Faulk began his 31-year tenure with university relations immediately following his 1972 graduation from Belhaven College in Jackson. He was the son of Charles and Elizabeth Faulk, his father having served for many years as managing editor of the Vicksburg Post.
Through school publications and individual photographs appearing in national and international newspapers and other periodicals, the products of Faulk's professional creativity and natural eye became imbued in generations of university employees, students, graduates, friends, and the general public.
His photographs appeared in eight MSU calendars, including the 2005 edition in which a Faulk photo appears on the cover. They also were featured in three major book projects: a university centennial pictorial history in 1978, a general pictorial survey in 1993 and "Inside Dudy Noble" in 1992. His last major project involved a commemoration of the university's 125th anniversary released a month before his death at age 54 in November 2003.
Faulk received numerous honors over his career, including an award of excellence from the Washington, D.C.-based Council for Advancement and Support of Education. He also was among the first to receive a university-wide Distinguished Staff Award.
Joining university relations and the architecture college as exhibition co-sponsors are the Colvard Union, MSU Alumni Association, MSU Foundation, and The Chalet in Starkville.
For more information, telephone University Relations at (662) 325-3442.