K.D. Lawson
Just a few days before his death, K.D. Lawson and I were planning an exhibition by a young photographer. As usual, K.D. was interested, positive, helpful, and thoughtful as we talked about the best way to showcase an up and coming professional. He was always like that. If you didn't know K.D., I am sorry that you didn't. He was a great photographer and a great teacher, but he was much more than that.
K.D. Lawson was one of the first people I met when I arrived at this college in 1993. Here I was, first day on campus, and here he was, camera in hand, taking photos. He made me feel very much welcome and at ease with his great smile and great humor. I didn't really get to know him that first day, but I learned very quickly that he was a man that couldn't, and shouldn't, be ignored.
He was a fixture at Division Street Campus for many years. We didn't know we needed photography courses at the college, but K.D. knew it, and he did whatever it took to see that we offered the right ones. Back in the days of dark rooms, K.D. supplied whatever it took to equip and stock supplies to make it operational, and when we finally devoted a small space for a permanent dark room, K.D.'s classes really took off.
His classes were successful because of his expertise, his devotion to his craft, and because of his dedication to his students. He spent countless hours teaching, tutoring, and challenging his students to become better. And he was very, very good at it.
When he wasn't teaching his students, he was teaching us, his fellow faculty members, department heads, and me, how to work together to create something bigger than we had envisioned. He knew the importance of the digital age when he saw it, and Pellissippi State never really lagged behind the digital curve because K.D. wouldn't let us. He did it in his usual way - smiling, proposing, coaxing, instructing, and by leading us into paths we wouldn't go except for the fact that we trusted him.
We wouldn't have a photography program except for K.D. Lawson, and I doubt if our transition into a Media Technology program would have worked as well without K.D. at the table. I am so grateful that our paths led us to Pellissippi State where I got to know and interact with him over the years. He was a good man and I know that I am better off for having known him. Pellissippi State is certainly a better college because of his life and work.