MSU photography professor wins national Honored Educator Award

Christina Anderson didn’t intend to take on teaching as a career. After graduating from MSU in 2000, she said she only took a teaching job so she could continue using the darkroom in the Visual Communication Building. 

Two and a half decades and countless trips to the darkroom later, she was awarded the Honored Educator Award by the National Society for Photographic Education (SPE).

The SPE is a national non-profit organization dedicated to promoting a broader understanding of photography, according to its website. The Honored Educator Award annually recognizes a career educator in photography for making significant contributions to the field.

Anderson said she was initially shocked when she was notified that she received the award.

“The first thing [I thought] about [were] all the teachers out there that were unsung heroes that didn't get that award,” she said. “I was like, why me? But then I thought, ‘OK, I'll accept it.’ I've taught for a lot of years, and I've written a lot of books to help the knowledge in my field be more accessible.”

Dean Adams, dean of the College of Arts and Architecture, praised Anderson’s work in and out of the classroom. He said that she is an engaged member of the MSU community who cares deeply about her students and their success.

“She completely deserves this,” he said. “To have somebody recognize her contributions in photographic education and her commitment to student success — I couldn't be more happy that she's [an MSU] faculty member and part of the College of Arts and Architecture.”

Outside the classroom, Anderson has published six books and is working on a seventh. Her books provide step-by-step instruction across varied forms of alternative photographic techniques, many of which date back to the origins of photography, according to Adams.

“[Her books] have been [printed] in over 40 countries, and when I visit other universities and they have alternative photography, I think there's a good chance I'm going to find her book as either the textbook or the book that the faculty member is using to teach students,” Adams said.

Anderson said that she believes she fulfills her duties as an educator when she teaches students new skills to help them become better versions of themselves. Additionally, she said her class material has changed over the years to better fit students' needs.

“I tend to morph my classes through time by asking their opinions and stuff. I'm not one of those [professors who] goes into the classroom with everything cut in stone because I've taught it for 20 years. So all my classes have been pretty much student-molded,” she said.

Anderson said she found photography by accident. She was pursuing her BFA in painting from the MSU School of Art and was required to take a course in photography.

“When I took [photography] from John Hooton — who was my faculty person, him and Denise Stenzel, way back when — it was like, right away, I knew,” Anderson said. “I fell in love with photography. I finished my painting degree, but it was like no looking back.”

“That's why I always think that students need to take courses that they don't necessarily want to take because they will find out things that they have no idea that they were interested in,” she said.

Anderson largely credits her success to those who have taught alongside her over the years. She said the faculty at MSU are unique in how they support and uplift one another.

“Those relationships have been super, super important, so I think I have been blessed in that way. My colleagues, we all bring each other up,” Anderson said. “I know I owe my teaching skills to the teachers that came before me and believed in me and were part of the group when I started teaching here.”

To see more of Anderson’s work or purchase her books, visit her website at https://www.christinazanderson.com/.