The year 1907 was one of the most important in White's career. Arthur Wesley Dow, who was a very influential painter, photographer and teacher, then chaired the art department at Columbia University. Dow, who had known White for at least five years, asked White to become a part-time lecturer in art photography at Teachers College, which was part of Columbia. This was a strong testimony to the international recognition of White's artistry, since White himself had no education beyond high school and he had never had any training in art of any kind. He soon found himself in love with his new profession, which finally afforded him a modest but steady income while relieving him of any detail of managing a business (White was notoriously lax in billing and collecting from clients).