Dr. Douglas Ferguson originally hails from Lima, Ohio. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Ohio State University and his PhD from Bowling Green State in Bowling Green, Ohio, about 30 minutes south of Toledo. Dr. Ferguson is the founding director of the MCOM program, and has taught COMM 501, 507 and 580.
Why do you choose to teach and advise in the MCOM program?
DF: Having previously directed theses and dissertations in Ohio, I came to Charleston to continue that activity as much as the curriculum allows. My graduate-level training in speech communication and mass communication gives me a wide area of expertise, as well as the books and refereed articles I continue to write since 1989.
What are your teaching and/or research interests?
DF: Social media, media organizations, and research methods.
Describe a project, class or academic experience that you are currently working on.
DF: My latest research project is studying binge-watching of TV shows on mobile devices.
What is one piece of advice that you would give incoming or current graduate students?
DF: Collect and analyze data that address questions arising from mainstream theories of communication. Produce one new manuscript per year.
What is a fun fact about you that most people do not know?
DF: I was manager of an NBC-affiliated TV station.
