FEATURE PROFILE: JUDY WALGREN

It was Judy Walgren’s first day of second grade. Her family had just moved from Iowa City, Iowa—a place she said was bursting at the seams with diversity—to a “white flight” suburb in Dallas.

Upon her arrival, she immediately befriended a student of color. After all, her friends in Idaho were of color and she felt out of sorts in this new environment. She wasn’t used to everybody looking the same.

Almost instantly, she was pulled aside by two classmates who told her she couldn’t play with her new friend because he wasn’t white. That night, Walgren told her parents that this new school was not safe and that they needed to leave.

This was when she first discovered what racism was.

This was when her commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion was born.

This was when her life’s work of humanizing injustices through photojournalism began.

“I am the sole person who works around photojournalism and documentary photography here,” said Walgren, Michigan State University’s Journalism School associate director. “A lot of the stories that are ‘newsworthy’ affect people of color or people from historically marginalized communities. That’s the area of work that I’m really interested in.”

Before coming to MSU, the Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist worked extensively in journalism. For part of that time, she took on positions at The Dallas Morning News, The Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News and others. To say that Walgren followed a standard path, however, would be an immense understatement.

“I’ve been involved in wars in Bosnia and watched people starve to death in Somalia during another war in Sudan where they used food as a weapon,” Walgren said. “People were just dying everywhere. I have seen the worst that humankind can do themselves. I’ve photographed it. I’ve been in the middle of it. But I’ve also seen the best in those same situations.”

She didn’t have to travel to another continent for her next project; she just had to come to MSU. She felt compelled to cover people who’d survived sexual abuse scandals that plagued the university over four years ago. She also felt compelled to cover them in a way that other media had failed.

“Something I’ve always noticed is that they always say the ‘Nassar survivors’ in the media, which for me is super off-putting,” she said. “We never get the names of the people. I really appreciated this notion of survivor identity. I started doing research on them and realized that there were two sets of photos of these very courageous humans. It was either them sobbing hysterically in court and looking really traumatized, or they were being exalted on a stage for the ESPY awards. There was nothing in between.”

Contrary to these depictions, Walgren wanted to honor subtlety and a more holistic representation in this project, but most importantly, the survivors themselves. She gave them creative freedom with their portraits and worked to portray a part of their identity that had been overlooked by the media.

“It was always in their hands,” she said. “I was just there to midwife. It wasn’t what I wanted or dictated or what some outlet was demanding to go with a story. It really was for them.”

Walgren had a few job offers at one point: one at a university in Texas where she’d grown up and one at MSU. This chance, however, was the deciding factor.

“The opportunity to possibly get to collaborate with them was the thing that pushed me over the decision edge,” she said. “In terms of my calling and being true to myself, I definitely feel like I made the right decision.”

Though other demands have slowed the project, Walgren has every intention to pick it up again, which according to her, means she will. Even though the topics of her projects may be heavy, she is certain of their impact.

“I saw this poll recently that said that journalism was the most regretted career,” she said. “I’ll call b------- on that right now. I’ve had the privilege of leading a life that very few people have had the opportunity to lead. Yes, it has come with significant pain and trauma, but it’s also come with significant joy and a feeling of agency.”

Her devotion to diversity, equity and inclusion lends itself into other MSU exhibitions as well. She created the Visual Storytelling in Kenya study abroad opportunity and invited Dr. Teresa Mastin—a chairperson and professor for MSU’s Department of Advertising and Public Relations—to co-advise.

The trip naturally put a heavy emphasis on photography and videography. But it also employed sustained dialogue, a practice that takes people from diverse backgrounds and invites them to engage, actively listen and discuss topics of race, gender, class and more in a group setting.

“One of the things that appealed to me about this trip was sustained dialogue,” Mastin said. “The purpose is not to make others see the way you’re thinking, but to understand how they got there and what we need to do to work together. So, at a very basic level, how do you truly listen to other people?”

Walgren said that part of what helped the students truly listen to each other and work through their biases was the fact that they were in a completely different environment—Nairobi, Kenya.

“What we found was that sustained dialogue deepened our students’ connections with each other,” Walgren said. “Our group itself was very diverse financially, racially, ethnically and culturally, but they were all together in a community that was different from all of them. They had this point of connection with each other, but then they had this external space where they could practice their newly emerging sustained dialogue ability.”

Sonya Barlow, a second-year journalism student who attended the program, said that sustained dialogue was a necessary skill—not only in unfamiliar territories, but in everyday life as well.

“I definitely learned from sustained dialogue to be more present,” Barlow said. “That comes from actively listening to someone and hearing what they have to say. Being able to listen to each other, talk to people about things that you’re struggling with—it’s just a great skill in general.”

Walgren believes sustained dialogue could be the pivot point to bridge the divides between different groups of people. She also noted the importance of being outspoken about injustices and bigotry, and how she’s not always well-liked because of it.  

“Being super open about that doesn’t always make me the most popular person in the room,” she said. “But just like journalism is a megaphone, I feel like I can be that too. Throughout my life, that hasn’t always made me the most loved person by some people, but I think the people whose voices need to be included have voiced appreciation for that.”

Walgren proved to be a great connection and enhanced Barlow’s photojournalism and videography abilities; Barlow is grateful for how direct, passionate and caring her adviser was throughout her time in Nairobi.

“She will tell you what she thinks, which I really value,” Barlow said. “She’s very honest and I really appreciate that honesty.”

Mastin said that the intensity of Walgren’s personality allows her to determine exactly what her students need and how to help them.

“First and foremost, and in the best way possible, she’s a lot,” Mastin said. “She’s passionate about helping other people see themselves, what they can do, their growth and helping them get there.”

At the heart of Walgren’s projects—whether it’s the survivors’ portraits, the study abroad program or anything else—is a simple truth.

“I’ve got to be honest—I’m not obsessed with taking photos and I never have been,” Walgren said. “I’m obsessed with helping people.”