Rick Shaw is director of Pictures of the Year International (POYi), a photojournalism professional development program of the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism.

Shaw joined the University of Missouri in 2004 as an assistant professor in the photojournalism sequence and director of photography for The Missourian, the student-produced daily city newspaper.

Shaw's prior newspaper career spans 27 years in visual editing and management. He began as a photojournalist and moved into picture editing, working at a variety of newspapers including The Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville and then The Sacramento Bee for 12 years. At The Bee, he served in a variety of positions including photo editor, assistant director of photography, and later as an assistant news editor. Rick then became the director of photography and graphics at The Arizona Republic in Phoenix, and in 2001 joined the Hartford Courant as

their director of design and graphics. He has been recognized with several design and picture editing awards, including "Picture Editor of the Year" honors in POYi and NPPA competitions. The Sacramento Bee and Hartford Courant both have received the Angus McDougall Overall Excellence in Editing Award.

At The Missourian, he directed the student photo editing staff to two consecutive POYi photo editing portfolio awards, competing against professional newspapers nationwide — a third place editing portfolio during the 64th annual competition in 2007, and an Award of Excellence editing portfolio during the 63rd annual competition in 2006.

Shaw also serves on the faculty of the photojournalism sequence at the Missouri School of Journalism. His current academic research relates to online visual journalism, and examines the effects of news organizations' visual personalities with regards to audience perceptions of credibility.