Photo of the front of a pink building with green doors

David Rathbun founded and developed the photography program at GVSU in 1981. He was born in Denver, Colorado in 1943. Rathbun later moved to Illinois and graduated in 1965 with a bachelor of arts degree in literature from Wheaton College. It was there that he discovered the efficacy of a strong liberal arts college education. He taught in the photography department at GVSU and noted that the program was challenging and rewarding to him as a scholar, photographer, and educator. He is known for teaching color and vision, and the nature of looking when color establishes the agenda of the visual experience.