His campus office is like a microcosm of his life amid Christmas lights that hang from the wall, piles of papers, books, photographs and a bumper sticker above his desk that reads, “My job is to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”

The office of retiring photography Professor John Grzywacz-Gray reflects a 40-year career at Moorpark College characterized by his gift to harness creative energy and ignite those around him.

Gray gave input on the design of the photography building during the planning stages. He insisted that the 10-foot window panels should slide open to give access for large subjects to enter the classroom studio, later prompting students to hot-wire his Volkswagen and place it in the room for a photo shoot.

Development of the college’s 135-acre site paralleled the rapid, creative growth that Gray calls MC’s “golden period” which lasted into the early ‘80s.

Founding MC President Dr. John Collins actively recruited a faculty pool of artists, poets and thinkers – producing a collection of passionate and dedicated instructors.

Gray was hired in 1971 without a college degree and eventually earned an Associate of Arts degree at MC.

Before accepting the position, he thought it would be best to disclose his deep political involvement – which included his campaign with the Socialist Workers Party in 1968 as a write-in candidate for the 29th Congressional District.

“I turned to the SWP in favor of arguing for mass demonstration against the war and government,” he recalled.

During the Vietnam War he was a conscientious objector and managed to dodge the draft.

His political ideals evolved during his childhood out of the Polish ghettos of Chicago, where neighborhoods were segregated by race, ethnicity and religion; the civil rights movement was just beginning to gain momentum.

Gray attended a Catholic high school, played the French horn and faithfully argued with the priests on every issue from religious doctrine to social conditions.

At age 17 he left home, labored in a steel mill slitting metal before getting a job at a downtown music store, near the Musicians Union headquarters.

In 1954 he enrolled in two schools simultaneously, the Vandercook College of Music in Chicago and Illinois Institute of Technology Photography. During the first year he dropped out of the music school and continued to study photography under the guidance of contemporary photographers and teachers Harry Callahan, Aaron Siskind and Arthur Siegel.

He developed advertisements and catalogues for a musical wholesale company, then started photographing musicians and products on a freelance basis.

Gray worked as a photographer and journalist for “The Militant,” a newspaper that focused on the actions of Black Nationalists and movements for anti- war, feminists, and Chicanos.

Traveling from Illinois, Florida and California he was interweaving jobs and political activities.

“Out of the civil rights and anti-war movement, came the feminist movement, as well as others…but it was visibly clear that women were not playing a major part,” he said.

Being an activist for social change has been a part of Gray’s existence – becoming a teacher he says was his calling.

In the classroom he teaches the fundamentals of photography and embraces theories like that of French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson who said, “You don’t have to think, you just shoot.”

Although Gray does provoke thinking, his mission is guiding his students to see differently with their cameras as well as their intelligence. He has influenced hundreds of students in their artistic endeavors and career choices, including former students Dan Winters and Matt Mahurin, both renowned artists and photographers.

Winters, a 1982 Moorpark College graduate, said that Gray has a knack of knowing where to put his energy and how to motivate students.

“John was and is still the biggest influence to my professional life…He was hard on me, but never to the point that he minimized my work,” said Winters.

Mahurin studied at MC in the late ‘70s.

“John has an unbelievable bull-shit meter … he could read you when you were full of shit and told you what you needed to hear,” said Mahurin. “As much as John would inspire, he would challenge … always having the perfect balance of compassion and confrontation that made me take responsibility for not only my weaknesses, but also my potential.”

Also in the ‘70s Gray and his stud
ents produced a campus newspaper called the “Cracker Jack,” which used straight language with articles ranging from a sexual advice column to a how-to on processing marijuana in the oven.

Gray helped established the photography, graphic arts and more recently, the multimedia programs. He was part of the Learning Communities Team and the CyberSummer outreach program.

He meet his wife of 35 years during his first year at MC. Sue was his student and she said he was known as the “foxy photography teacher.” They have three children and four grandchildren and he also has a daughter from his first marriage.

In 1989 he received Outstanding Certificated Employee and in 2002 he was rewarded the Distinguished Faculty Chair. Part of the reward was used to start the John Gray Photography Scholarship.

Psychology Professor Sally Ponce-O’Rourke asked Gray one year to dress up as Santa Claus for her daughter and friends. O’Rourke worked on Multicultural Day programs with Gray.

“He is filled with ideas and can apply his teachings to any age,” said O’Rourke. “John is an optimist and always has a smile.”

During the 2009-2010 school year, Kathryn Adams Ed.D, a writing center coordinator at MC, co-chaired “The Year of Service” with Gray. She recalled Gray saying to her, “Take from what you learn from each experience and use it for the next time… no looking back…ask, what’s next and what would you do differently.”

For Adams, Gray was the ideal partner.

“A little act of kindness is service … John espouses and lives that truth,” said Adams.

When asked what thoughts Gray would leave to his students, he said he wants them to always challenge preconceived ideas and to find what they are called to do.

“I would encourage students to find their identity … and to find their own voice.”