Aaron A. Vessup, native of Los Angeles, California, is a retired professor of cultural communications, author, award winning poet, and fine arts photographer. He taught at Elgin Community College in Illinois for 25 years, in addition to serving as a Teaching Fellow at Illinois State University, and the University of Pittsburgh. Human Relations Director for the city of Bloomington, Illinois. Assistant professor at Texas Southern University. Recipient of the Kellog Media Studies Grant.
Assistant Forensics Coach and recipient of the Media Studies Fellowship at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Group and solo photography exhibitions in Elgin, Il.; Geneva, IL; Chicago, Il.; Antigua, Guatemala; Havana, Cuba; Berlin, Germany; La Couture Debussy, France, Changsha, Changchun, and Beijing, China. Director and host of the award-winning Cable Television “Cultures in Focus” weekly program. Retired Professor Emeritus from Elgin College in Northern Illinois.
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Received Outstanding Foreign Teacher awards at Hunan Mass Media College, and Huaqiao Foreign Language Institute in the People’s Republic of China. Has written for international publications and traveled to Africa, Belarus, Cambodia, Central America, Cuba, Russia, Japan, India, Korea, and elsewhere. Cultural bridge building is his passion. In 1992, Aaron received the “Martin Luther King, Jr. Award” from the city of Elgin, Illinois. Current residence is in Las Vegas, Nevada.
