“I was originally here on a visiting contract for two years. I think I’ve outstayed my visit by a few years, I guess,” said JCU Communication Professor Douglas Bruce. He started teaching at John Carroll in 1985.

Bruce’s education has taken him all over the country, to a few different states for high school, college and doctoral work. “I started high school in New York and then finished in Texas. I went to the University of Texas, San Antonio.”

In his undergraduate work, Bruce earned his degree in History, but always had an interest in Communication. His involvement in debate in high school and college sparked his interest in the field, and he soon decided he wanted to learn more about the field.

“After college, I went out in the world, unloaded trucks for nine months and decided I didn’t want to do that anymore, so I got a master’s degree in Communication Studies.”

He earned his master’s degree from what was formerly Southwest Texas State, now known as Texas State at San Marcos.

“After that, I worked a little bit, part time, at the University of Texas, San Antonio. And then I also worked a little bit with the university [with] setting up high school debate tournaments.”

Following that, he left his life in Texas behind to earn his doctorate in Communications. Upon graduation, he moved to Cleveland, taking his first job as a professor teaching Communication Studies at John Carroll University. He has been with the college since 1985.

After renewing his one-year contract, he continued teaching in the department where he earned tenure and was promoted to associate professor. He has been with the John Carroll community for 34 years.

When asked why he wanted to become a professor, Bruce responded that “it was just what appealed to me most, certainly more than going into an office job and pushing papers for a living.”

Bruce helped out with the JCU Debate team for a few years, but is now pretty busy teaching several classes on a variety of topics in the Tim Russert Department of Communication.

Bruce explained that he really likes John Carroll, and that it stood out to him when applying to teach at several colleges. “I like the Jesuit approach to things, even though I’m not Catholic. John Carroll was always just a place where I felt fairly welcomed.”

Outside of JCU, Bruce is the proud owner of two cats, Zombie and Peep.