It’s been a full day now since the news of Michel du Cilles death reached us. Like many of you, I am still stunned by the sudden loss of this wonderful man and inspiring photojournalist. My thoughts and prayers go out to Nikki. To say that Michel will be greatly missed is an understatement. In case you dont know them personally, Nikki Kahn, Michels wife, graduated from our program in Newhouse and works as a photojournalist at the Washington Post. Michel also worked at the Washington Post as a photojournalist and director of photography. Both Michel and Nikki have produced powerful stories and images, several of which were awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Over the years, they have come to Newhouse many times to participate as coaches in our Fall Workshop, mentoring students as they embark on their own careers as visual storytellers. Michels most recent project focused on Ebola, and he traveled to West Africa a number of times to tell the story. Many of you have seen his images from the region, a body of work thats helped us understand an important global crisis. And many of you read stories this fall about Michel and Newhouse. What you might not know is that over the past few months, Michel had been helping us put together a seminar on Ebola to be held here at Newhouse this coming year. He was planning to show his work and speak, along with prominent writers, policy makers and frontline medical experts. We all knew Michel was risking his life to tell this story. What no one knew was how suddenly the end would come, not from Ebola but from a heart attack while working in Liberia. Michel was passionate about his work, the issues he covered and the people those issues affected. He cared deeply about the people he photographed, the students he mentored, his friends, and most of all, Nikki. Claudia and I were fortunate to be friends with Michel, as many of you were. We will miss his big smile, his warm hug and his words of advice. Nikki, our hearts are broken. We love you, and we appreciate everything you and Michel have done over the years to help us better understand our world. washingtonpost/local/obituaries/2014/12/11/04e06b78-8189-11e4-8882-03cf08410beb_story.html
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 16:23:59 +0000
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