Alumnus named White House photographer

Alumnus Pete Souza (COM '76), 54, who photographed the second Reagan administration, will now document Barack Obama's presidency as the official White House photographer.

Obama and Souza met for the first time in January 2005, on Obama's first day in the U.S. Senate when he was sworn in as a Democrat from Illinois. Souza worked for the Chicago Tribune at the time, and documented Obama's first year in the Senate, and his trips to seven countries including Kenya, South Africa, and Russia, in photographs that were later compiled into the July 2008 book "The Rise of Barack Obama."

Souza is a native of South Dartmouth, Mass., and he graduated cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in public communication from Boston University. He also has a masters degree in journalism and mass communication from Kansas State University.

Read the full announcement on the National Press Photographers Association website.