Posted on Thu, Jun. 16, 2005

Professor Woolley dies at 73

By LISA MICHALS
Staff Writer

USC journalism students once had to hunt down their final examinations before they could take them because their photojournalism professor, Donald Woolley, arranged for the exams to be dropped from a helicopter.

Noted for his surprising creativity, Woolley will be remembered most for his deep devotion to photojournalism.

Woolley, 73, died Tuesday in Nashville, Tenn., after a three-week illness. A native of North Plainfield, N.J., he arrived in Columbia in 1972 to build the USC photojournalism program.

"He was a very creative person, which made him a good photographer, but most of all he enjoyed the challenge of telling a story through a picture," said Deb Woolley, his wife.

Even without the aid of helicopters, his photojournalism prowess left an impression on students. Former students would still call him 30 years after they sat in his classroom, asking advice about photos, Deb Woolley said.

His deep love of photojournalism led him to many projects, including tape-recording interviews with photographers whose photos were selected as the top 100 photos of the year, Deb Woolley said. He asked them about shooting the photos and what their goals and feelings were that day.

"He knew the history of just about every Pulitzer Prize photo that had been taken because he had interviewed the guy that had taken it," said Ronald Farrar, a former journalism colleague at USC.

Donald Woolley used his interviews as fodder for the classroom.

Prior to his nearly 25-year tenure at USC, Donald Woolley worked as a photographer and editor at newspapers in Pennsylvania and Missouri. His distinguished teaching career began at the University of Iowa.

Send memorials to the College of the Ozarks, P.O. Box 17, Point Lookout, MO 65726. His wife plans to arrange a memorial service to be held in Columbia, but no date has been set.

Reach Michals at (803) 771-8532 or lmichals@thestate.com.