Andrea Bruce joins Grady College as Knight Chair in Visual Journalism

Andrea Bruce, an internationally recognized and award-winning documentary photographer, publisher and educator, will join the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication on Aug. 1, 2025, as its new Knight Chair in Visual Journalism.

“The hiring of internationally renowned Andrea Bruce marks a significant step forward in building Grady College as one of the foremost visual journalism programs in the country,” Charles N. Davis, dean of Grady College, said.

In addition to its photojournalism curriculum, Grady College is also home to the National Press Photographers Association and the Best of Photojournalism competition.

Bruce’s photojournalism is most identified with her coverage of wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and other areas of conflict. Bruce is currently a photographer for the National Geographic Magazine and The New York Times, positions she has held for more than ten years. She spent nine years as a staff photographer for The Washington Post. Her studies and photography focus on themes of democracy, income inequality and rural communities.

In 2021, Bruce identified a news desert in her home of Pamlico County, North Carolina, and addressed the issue by creating “Down in the County,” a hyperlocal, visual first news site that highlights life in rural communities.

The Knight Chair in Visual Journalism is an endowed chair funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which supports journalistic, artistic and community endeavors. It is part of a national network of Knight Chairs in Journalism. Bruce will hold the first Knight Chair in Visual Journalism at Grady College.

“Andrea Bruce’s commitment to storytelling through photography—especially in underserved and rural communities—embodies the values we support at Knight. As the Knight Chair in Visual Journalism, her leadership will inspire a new generation of journalists to document the world with purpose and integrity,” said Duc Luu, director of sustainability initiatives/journalism at Knight Foundation.

Davis expressed appreciation to Knight Foundation for their support. “We are so thankful to Knight Foundation for working with us to reimagine our chair,” Davis continued. “We all felt that visual journalism needed a presence, given the rise of social media and digital platforms. Our students must be excellent visual communicators, and Andrea is one of the best.”

Bruce served the past four years as president of NOOR Images, an international platform dedicated to creating ethical visual stories and education programs. She served on the National Geographic Photo Advisory Board and was a two-year juror for photography for The Pulitzer Prize.

“I’m so excited to welcome Andrea to our faculty,” said Jonathan Peters, head of the Department of Journalism. “As a photojournalist known for her compelling storytelling and her dedication to covering complex global issues, she brings a wealth of experience and a rich perspective to our academic community. Her contributions will be an inspiration to our students and faculty — and a catalyst for thoughtful, engaged visual work in our college and beyond. I can’t wait to see the impact she’ll have and the creative energy she’ll bring.”

For the past several years, Bruce has shared her vast photojournalism experience in the classroom teaching at New York University, Duke University and most recently at Ball State University, among other programs. She teaches numerous workshops each year including the National Geographic Photo Camp, The Foundry Workshop for Photography and NOOR Images workshops.

“Grady College has always had dedicated and talented faculty in visual communications,” Bruce said. “By joining them as a Knight Chair, I will work to cement their ambitious dreams of innovating and creating new opportunities with visuals, and to help give students the tools to make their lens-based passions a viable reality in today’s challenging world. My hope is that my experiences as a conflict photographer and writer with international publications and nonprofits, as well as a publisher in local news, will help give students the insight they need to have a career in visuals.”

Bruce has been recognized for her work with numerous awards, grants and fellowships including recognition as Photographer of the Year four years by the White House News Photographers Association, an Environmental Vision Award and most recently, the Press Forward Grant for “Down in the County.”

Bruce served as a Neiman Fellow at Harvard University in 2015-2016. She has an undergraduate degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and recently earned a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

About Knight Foundation

We are social investors who support a more effective democracy by funding free expression and journalism, arts and culture in community, research in areas of media and democracy and the American cities and towns where the Knight brothers once published newspapers. Learn more at KF.org. 

Author: Sarah Freeman, freemans@uga.edu