WMU through and through

greg gerfen, b.b.a.'83

Not many people can say they have a four-decade long history with their alma mater. But Western Michigan University’s own Greg Gerfen can.

Gerfen’s Bronco journey began back in 1979 as an advertising major at WMU, where he learned the business foundations that ultimately landed him his first job at a Minneapolis creative ad agency. This began his journey in advertising and the opportunity to work on major national brands such as The UPS Store, Iams Pet Foods and Tyson Foods, ultimately ending up back in Michigan at a large Detroit ad agency.

And the love of WMU is a family affair. Not only did Gerfen meet his now wife during his freshman year, but his youngest daughter recently graduated from the Haworth College of Business with her own advertising degree. Following in her father’s footsteps, her first job out of college was at the same Minneapolis company her dad worked at all those years ago.  

While Gerfen has held many titles in his lifetime—successful advertiser, student recruiter and church hand bell director to name a few—he says his newest titles as executive-in-residence, for the advertising and promotion program and marketing instructor are among his favorites.

His role in the Department of Marketing came about due to the years he spent working with and recruiting business students for the Detroit advertising agency Doner. Reflecting back to when he was at WMU, Gerfen didn’t remember many ad agencies visiting campus or recruiting students. And he was looking to change that.

“I contacted the professor who was in charge of the AdClub at the time and asked if I could meet and interview students,” Gerfen explains. “In the more than 25 years I visited campus, I estimate that I was able to hire 25 to 30 students to work at Doner.”

During this time, he got to know the faculty and half-jokingly mentioned his interest in teaching one day. “I ended up receiving a call from Dr. Karen Lacendorfer asking me if I was still interested,” he shares. “I couldn’t pass up the chance.”

And the rest is history.

Gerfen is in his third year of teaching at WMU and says he couldn’t be happier with the decision. He’s using his more than 30 years of professional advertising experience to bring the real world to the classroom. “I use actual examples of work to demonstrate the concepts and theories that the textbooks are filled with,” Gerfen says.

When it comes to finding success in college, Gerfen has two pieces of advice for his students. His first—speak in public as often as possible. And, his second—build a strong network of contacts before graduation.

“An advantage the Haworth College of Business has over other schools is how our faculty is personally involved with the success of our students,” Gerfen says. “We are all genuinely interested and active in providing advice, assistance and resources to help students get the most out of their WMU experience.”