UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Steven Rubin, professor of art in the College of Arts and Architecture’s School of Visual Arts, has been named distinguished professor in recognition of outstanding academic contribution to Penn State. A documentary photographer whose work highlights critical and contemporary issues including health disparities, rural poverty, refugee migration and immigrant detention, he is one of 14 Penn State faculty members to receive the honor in 2026.
Rubin joined the Penn State faculty in 2008 after spending more than 20 years as a freelance photojournalist in the United States and abroad, including Iraq, Rwanda, Kosovo and Pakistan, among other countries. His recent projects investigate the rise of wind energy in the Midwest, the precarious conditions of Burmese Chin refugees in India, and the social and environmental impacts of Marcellus Shale gas development in Pennsylvania, culminating in the book "Shale Play — Poems and Photographs from the Fracking Fields" with documentary poet Julia Spicher Kasdorf. He is currently documenting the troubling rise of diabetes in select parts of West Africa and Latin America. Closer to home, he is also collaborating with Kasdorf on a new book, documenting the many challenges of local farming and farm life within a 30-mile radius of his home in State College.
“As a documentary photographer who has worked around the globe, Professor Rubin brings an unmatched perspective to the classroom, the college and the University,” said B. Stephen Carpenter II, Michael J. and Aimee Rusinko Kakos Dean in the College of Arts and Architecture. “He is recognized internationally for his creative practice and has served the University in many roles, working with both students and faculty members. I find the long-term, globally recognized impact of his creative and scholarly work, particularly from a human rights perspective, to be compelling evidence of raising standards within and beyond the University. He certainly exemplifies the characteristics of a ‘distinguished professor.’”
In addition to his book, Rubin’s photographs have been published in “The New York Times Magazine,” “National Geographic,” “Time,” “Newsweek” and “The Village Voice,” and internationally in “Stern,” “GEO,” “Focus,” “L’Express” and “The London Independent Magazine.”
His work has been exhibited across the United States and featured at the Refugee Studies Centre in Oxford and at the international festival "Visa pour L’Image," in Perpignan, France. A 2012-13 Fulbright-Nehru Scholar in northeast India, he is also the recipient of the Leica Medal of Excellence, a New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Fellowship, a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard and an Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship. As a Community Fellow with the Open Society Institute (Baltimore), he co-directed the innovative program "Healing Images," providing digital cameras, instruction and therapy to survivors of torture. He was also a Media Fellow with the Open Society Institute (New York), which supported his timely photographic investigation of the federal government’s detention and treatment of immigrants — work that has been widely circulated by Amnesty International, Human Rights First and the American Bar Association.
In his letter of support, Keith Shapiro, associate professor of art and member of the photography faculty, praised Rubin for his ability to connect his professional documentary practice with fine art inquiry.
“In courses such as 'PHOTO 405: Creative Projects in Photography,' he guides students to develop conceptually grounded projects that reflect both technical discipline and visual awareness,” wrote Shapiro. “His teaching emphasizes how formal choices serve meaning, and how a photographer’s work can be both expressive and socially engaged. Students regard him as clear, fair and attentive, and they respect the consistency and integrity he brings to his teaching.”
Eduardo Navas, interim director of the School of Visual Arts, echoed Shapiro’s comments, noting Rubin’s classes are not only hands-on, but designed to develop civic engagement. Recent class projects have had students working with Penn State Sustainability and the Sustainable Communities Collaborative in partnership with the Office of Physical Plant, documenting the challenges Penn State faces in its commitment to recycling, sustainability and reducing food waste.
“Professor Rubin’s teaching approach goes beyond the basic expectation of technical acquisition, critical and historical knowledge,” wrote Navas in his letter of support for Rubin’s nomination. “He engages students in real-life situations so that they learn the life-changing power of photography as a storytelling medium that crosses over to art in terms of exhibits and journalistic publications.”
In 2021, Rubin won the College of Arts and Architecture’s Barbara O. Korner Award for Faculty Outstanding Service. He has curated exhibitions for the School of Visual Arts across the University.
A graduate of Reed College in Portland, Oregon, Rubin earned his master of fine arts in visual arts at the University of California, San Diego.