Ford Risley

Ph.D.: University of Florida
Master's degree: University of Georgia
Bachelor's degree: Auburn University

Ford Risley is head of the Department of Journalism, where he teaches reporting methods, media history and other courses.

Risley’s research centers on mass media history especially Civil War-era journalism. He is the author of The Civil War: Primary Documents on Events from 1860 to 1865 (Greenwood Press, 2004). He also has published more than 20 articles, essays, chapters and book reviews in a variety of scholarly publications including American Journalism, Civil War History, Georgia Historical Quarterly and Journalism History.

Risley is the current president of the American Journalism Historians Association and previously served on the association’s board of directors.

He spent nine years as a reporter at various newspapers, including the Florida Times-Union and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His freelance work has appeared in the Dallas Morning News and The New York Times. He was awarded the College of Communications Alumni Society's 2002 Excellence in Teaching Award.