Gregory Ardrey, Russ College EECS Systems Admin & Scripps College of Communications PhD Candidate

Greg’s career started with a half-day high school vocational class in Radio & TV Production in the fall of 1982. After graduating mid-year, he studied drafting and computer aided design at Arizona Tech, where his father worked as an instructor.
From there, Greg went on as a First-Generation college student to study electronics at Mesa Community College before changing his major to broadcast production. Greg attended Northern Arizona University with classes in Computer Animation, Film Production, Audio Production, Video Production, and Broadcast Journalism. He earned a diploma in Drafting and Computer Aided Design, Membership in Alpha Epsilon Rho, a Bachelor of Science degree in Broadcasting, an FCC General Radiotelephone Operator’s license, Society of Broadcast Engineers Certified Broadcast Technologist & Certified Broadcast Networking Technologist certifications and his first Amateur Radio License.
Mr. Ardrey has worked in the broadcast and video production industry since 1986 at places like KTSP-TV the CBS affiliate in Phoenix, NBC 4 in Columbus, WCOL/WNCI, Sunny95, 97.1 The Fan, and The Columbus Blue Jackets Radio Network doing production and engineering. He became involved in computers as a result of the increased use of automation systems and business networks in the broadcast industry.
By 1996, Mr. Ardrey had his first Novell certification and the consolidation in the radio industry had reduced the number of engineering jobs in the central Ohio market. When Clear Channel Communications bought Nationwide Communications Incorporated, Mr. Ardrey’s position was eliminated so he changed his career path to Information Technology. He worked at DeVry University for 6 years holding several IT positions including Director of Multimedia Projects and serving as the faculty advisor for the Digital Media Club “DeVry TV”.
Since then, Mr. Ardrey has had over 25 years of experience as a Network Administrator and IT Manager on Novell NetWare and Microsoft Active Directory based systems. He has managed one-hundred thousand dollar multi-vendor infrastructure projects and completed a consulting client’s workstation roll-out that had been 2 years behind schedule. He completed a Master’s in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School in 2008 and has held over 20 licenses and certifications.
In 2011, Mr. Ardrey accepted a position with Tri-Valley Local School District as a Network Administrator. While there, he used his broadcast background to rebuild and upgrade their audio and video facilities. He also helped them start a media production class to give students the same opportunity to explore the field of broadcasting that he had.
In 2014, Mr. Ardrey completed the process to get an Alternative Resident Educator’s License and started working on a Graduate Certificate in Educational Technology with a K-through-12 emphasis taking two courses per semester to meet the requirements to advance his teaching license.
He accepted positions with Central Ohio Technical College as Adjunct Faculty in the Computer Technology program and Newark City Schools teaching Digital Media and Computer Science under Ohio’s College Credit Plus program.
In 2016, after teaching at Newark, Mr. Ardrey went back into Information Technology full-time while he continued his graduate and doctoral coursework as a part-time student.
In 2019, Mr. Ardrey completed a Master of Education in Educational Technology with an adult learning and training emphasis and began looking at doctoral programs. Just before the 2020 pandemic, he was accepted to the PhD program in Mass Communications at Ohio University and transferred into that program.
During the mandated social isolation, he took online classes and obtained an FAA part 107 remote pilot certification. This allows him to legally operate a drone for commercial purposes including video production, photography, and teaching.
In 2023, about half-way through his doctorate, Mr. Ardrey accepted a position in the Russ College of Engineering at Ohio University as a Systems Administrator for the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He also upgraded his Amateur Radio license to Amateur Extra class and renewed his Project Management Institute PMP and SBE Certified Broadcast Technologist certifications for their 22nd and 25th years.
While finishing his PhD, Mr. Ardrey is using his background in broadcast engineering, computer technology, and educational technology to research how emerging technologies such as Motion Capture, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, 360-degree cinema, will converge with legacy technologies in Journalism, Entertainment, Education, and the Internet. He brings a unique perspective to this research having witnessed first-hand the history and evolution of many of today’s communication technologies. This combination of perspective and research allows him to predict trends and teach students the skills they will need both now and in the future.