Terry Eiler Interview by Ryan Baxley, April 13, 2026
Transcript of Eiler Baxley Interview
Interviewee
Eiler, Terry
Interviewer
Baxley, Ryan
Interview Date
4-13-2026
Description
Terry Eiler is a documentary photojournalist, field researcher, and photographer who is an Emeritus Professor at the Ohio University School of Visual Communication. Eiler also co-founded the School of Visual Communication and was the former director. Eiler received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Ohio University in 1969 before doing post-graduate studies at the University of Missouri. He also received a Master of Fine Arts degree in photography from Ohio University. He has worked on various photojournalism projects through the Library of Congress American Folklife Center, the Calvert Marine Museum, the American Folklife Center. He has also worked as a publication photographer for the National Geographic Society’s books and magazines. Eiler has worked on Project Documerica which was a project designed at documenting the state of the environment in the United States before the EPA got water and air legislation passed. Eiler began working in the Ohio University School of Art photography program in 1974 before co-founding the School of Visual Communication alongside Charles L. Scott in 1977. The School of Visual Communication has since been recognized as a Program of Excellence by the State of Ohio. Eiler was named the Kodak Professor of Australia in 1994, and he is the chair of the academic advisory board of the Salt Center for Documentary Studies. Furthermore, Eiler is on the National Press Photographers Association's (NPPA) contest governing board for the annual Best of Photojournalism competition. Eiler is also the director of the annual Scotland Field School in Documentary Photojournalism and has taught courses in Interactive Media, Documentary Photography, Advanced Publication Photography, Graduate Seminar, Newspaper Picture Story, and the Scotland Field School in Documentary Photojournalism. In 1993 Eiler was the recipient of the Ohio University Alumni Teaching Excellence award, and he has twice been named University Professor. In 2006, Eiler was the recipient of the Robert F. Garland Award for Education and in 2010 he was chosen to serve on the Edom Foundation for Photojournalism. In 2012 Eiler became the Professor Emeritus of Visual Communication at Ohio University and in 2015 he received the Susan Carr Educators Prize. Eiler is also active in the Athens community, serving on the board of the Athens Photographic Project which teaches photography to adults with mental illness, and he serves on the board of the Dairy Barn Cultural Arts Center.
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Keywords
Athens Ohio, Ohio University, Photographic Journalism, Photography, Publications, Communications, Visual Art, Documentaries, School of Visual Communication, National Geographic
Disciplines
Oral History
Publication Date
Spring 4-24-2026
Interview Location
Athens, Ohio
Digital Publisher
Ohio University Libraries
Document Type
Oral History
Duration
00:52:36
File Format
audio/aac
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Eiler, Terry and Baxley, Ryan C., "Terry Eiler Interview by Ryan Baxley, April 13, 2026" (2026). HIST 4798/5798: Recording Memory: Methods and Uses of Oral History. 30.
https://ohioopen.library.ohio.edu/hist4798/30