Peggy Turbett
Lecturer
Background
Adjunct instructor Peggy Turbett, MIA, MS, is an award-winning photographer, writer, and editor based in northeast Ohio, and has taught at John Carroll University since 2014. A three-day journey to view relief and development programs in Somalia in 1981 spurred her professional focus in photography. Since then, Turbett has produced articles, lectures, multimedia presentations and solo exhibitions based on her reports. "Keeping Company with the Elephants," on endangered elephants in Kenya, received honors in 2014 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition. The Cleveland Museum of Natural History featured her photography from Mali in a solo exhibit, "Beyond Timbuktu," and throughout the museum's major West African exhibition, "Senenkunya."
Turbett's career in non-profit organizations and journalism spans four decades, including reporting, editing and management positions at American Banker in New York City, United Press International (UPI) Paris bureau, Cincinnati Enquirer and 13 years as a photojournalist and photo editor at The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, where her stories were reprinted in newspapers across the United States. Most recently, Currents News cover stories featured her profile of the volunteers that revived maritime history at the Lorain Lighthouse in the July 2025 issue. Her account of a week-long stay at the 15th-century Chateau du Pin in the Loire Valley of France graced the cover of the publication's February 2024 issue.
As a freelance photographer, her work has appeared in Crains Cleveland Business, The Plain Dealer, The Chagrin Valley Publishing Company, and Our Ohio in addition to commercial projects and private portraiture. Born in Lorain, Ohio, Turbett studied at the Universität Tübingen in Germany and l'Université de Besançon in France as an undergraduate at Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio. She holds master degrees in international affairs from Columbia University, New York, and in journalism and visual communication from Ohio University, Athens, Ohio.
Areas of Expertise
- Photographer
- writer
- editor
- lecturer.
As a reporter and photojournalist - Turbett has general assignment and management experience at national and metro daily newspapers
- she has a particular knack for culinary
- portraiture
- interior design and travel photography.
Research Interests
"In Search of the Sunday Magazine: The Role of locally Published Magazines in the U.S. Newspaper Industry," Master of Science thesis accepted by the College of Communication of Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, June 1990.
Education
Peggy Turbett studied at the Universität Tübingen in Germany and l'Université de Besançon in France as an undergraduate at Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio. She holds master degrees in international affairs from Columbia University, New York, and in journalism and visual communication from Ohio University, Athens, Ohio.Ohio UniversityOhio University
MSJ, Visual CommunicationsMSJ, Visual Communications1993 - 1994
At the School of Visual Communication, I developed and refined my work in photography, design and storytelling, culminating in a magazine prototype exploring the industrial town of Lorain, Ohio.
My master's thesis through the Scripps School of Journalism, “In Search of the Sunday Magazine," explored the history and status of locally produced newspaper magazines, with survey results from 89 largest U.S. newspapers and historical narrative of the magazine from yellow rag through rotogravure to run-of-press insert.
Columbia University | SIPA
Master of International Affairs/ International Journalism
1982-1984
Core courses at the School of Journalism with Fred Friendly, Osborne Elliott, and Donald McNeil Jr. supplemented studies in economics and political analysis at the School of International and Public Affairs. Reporting internship at United Press International, Paris bureau, summer 1993, included coverage of fatal bombing at Orly Airport, Tour d'Argent culinary exports, and Tour de France cycle race results.
Antioch College
Bachelor of Arts, Foreign Civilizations and Languages/ German and French
1971-1975
Turbett's senior thesis explored relationship between Federal Republic of Germany and German Democratic Republic. Through the Antioch Education Abroad program, she studied at the Brilon Goethe Institute and University of Tübingen, Germany, and University of Besaçon, France. Co-op work included Stichting Christophorus for special needs children, Bosch-en-Duin, the Netherlands; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and Center School for Children with Dyslexia, Newton, Mass.
Courses Taught
These digital photography courses are based in the campus Mac computer lab, as well as offered remotely as needed, using Adobe Photoshop, Photo Mechanic, Zoom, Canvas Studio, Google Slides for the 2025-2026 academic year:JCU COM212 - Basic Photography in the Digital Age: Using digital cameras and smartphones, , students strive for well-composed, informative images, applying computer processing for Web posting. Since creating this course in 2014 as part of the university-wide Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) requirement, Turbett has adapted content and format to accommodate changing academic and photographic trends, teaching hundreds of JCU students the technical basics and critical skills to navigate the documentary, creative and manipulated world of digital photography. Each semester students document a typical day on campus, and produce digital and print versions of "A Day in the Life of John Carroll University."
Courses taught in previous semesters:
JCU COMM 125 -Speech Communication: Overcoming the fear and discomfort of public speaking builds confidence in personal and professional interactions in this Speech Communications course required of all university students.
JCU COMM-330 - Photojournalism: Students learn the role and use of the camera as a tool for reflecting and revealing our community, historically, globally and locally, in this advanced elective course redesigned by Turbett.
JCU COMM 225 - Journalism: This advanced elective course is a comprehensive introduction to the craft of gathering news over various platforms, with an emphasis on concise news and feature writing.
Publications
Ongoing projects include photographing the people, places and traditions of Chagrin Falls, Chardon, and Solon, in regional magazines published by Chagrin Valley Times. For Currents News, I photograph and write about an array of fundraising events in Northeast Ohio.For Crain's Cleveland Business, I photograph a variety of business-related assignments. Some highlight assignments include the energizing exploration of the Caruso Coffee Roaster in Brunswick, a visit to some of the 85 elk on a 500-acre farm in Wellington, Ohio, a trip up the Cuyahoga River on the Dorothy-Ann/ Pathfinder, carrying 13,000 tons of iron ore to the steel mill, and the jubilation in the Cleveland streets over the Cavaliers' 2014 home opener and the return of LeBron James.
For the Ohio Farm Bureau, I've provided such visual profiles as Nature Fresh greenhouses in Delta and young beekeeper Bethany Carlson of Liberty Honey. Michigan-based Bridge e-zine assigned photos for its retrospective on the Detroit riots of 1967. Other clients includeTeach for America, the Larchmere business community, and Hall Design Group.
"Keeping Company with the Elephants""Keeping Company with the Elephants"
Issued by SATW Society of American Travel Writers Foundation · Sep 2014Issued by SATW Society of American Travel Writers Foundation · Sep 2014
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Associated with The Plain DealerAssociated with The Plain Dealer -
- "Keeping Company with the Elephants," a Plain Dealer centerpiece feature, describes visits to elephant sanctuaries in Nairobi and Samburu, Kenya, and interviews with Dame Daphne Sheldrick, Daud Abdi, and others dedicated to safeguarding and saving elephants. The feature story, with photo gallery and video, won honorable mention in the environmental tourism category in the 2014 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition. tinyurl.com/turbettelly
