OC Ferrell is James T. Pursell, a distinguished ethicist and director of the Center for Ethical Organizational Cultures at Auburn University. He has served on the faculty at Belmont University, University of New Mexico, University of Wyoming, Colorado State University, University of Memphis, Texas A&M University, University of Michigan, Illinois State University, and Southern Illinois University.
Ferrell holds a PhD in Marketing, an MBA in Marketing from Louisiana State University, and a BA in Sociology from Florida State University. Ferrell is president-elect of the Academy of Marketing Science. He previously served as Vice President of Publications for the Academy of Marketing Science and as Chair of the Academic Council of the American Marketing Association. He serves on the board of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy's Center on Public Trust and is an advisory board member for Savant He Learning.
He serves on the Academic Advisory Board of the Direct Selling Education Foundation. He received the AMS Cutco/Vector Distinguished Educator Award for his contributions to the field of marketing. Other recognitions include being the first recipient of the Marketing Management Association's Marketing Education Innovation Award, receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Macromarketing Society, and receiving the Special Award for Achievement to Doctoral Students from the Southeast Doctoral Consortium. He has chaired 13 papers with former students who currently serve as deans, vice presidents, CIBER directors, journal editors, and more. Ferrell has published Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Examples (12th Edition), Marketing (19th Edition), Marketing Strategy (6th Edition), Business and Society (4th Edition), Management (3rd Edition), Business Introduction (12th edition).
He has published articles in the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, AMS Review, and Journal of Business Research, among others. He writes weekly business ethics summaries and reviews for the Wall Street Journal, which has a subscriber list of over 6,000 people. Ferrell has served as an expert witness in several high-profile ethics, legal, and marketing cases.
