Big change has been happening in GSU’s Student Life office and the man behind the change is Conner Ferguson.

With a new title to his name and a new office to manage, Director of Student Life Conner Ferguson jumpstarted what he does best: change. Since gaining the director position, Ferguson has been working on the more “boring” aspects of what it takes to get an office like Student Life up and running to his standards.

In the last year alone, he has been working on several in-house assessments, updated the Student Handbook (that hasn’t happened in almost four years!), updated student forms, helped GSU rejoin the WVASPA (West Virginia Association of Student Affairs and Student Services Professional Organization), and there is only more to come.  

Ferguson is a life-long resident of Gilmer County and has grown up surrounded by campus life. He is the fourth generation of his family to be employed at Glenville State, so young Conner Ferguson knew very early on that he wanted to be a part of the student experience at Glenville State University.

During his time as a college student at then Glenville State College (2013-2017), Ferguson was very active in student organizations such as Student Government. It was those experiences as student that solidified his vision of a future at GSU, so that he could help future generations have the same amazing experiences he did as a student.

Ferguson, with his goal in mind, started in a position at Public Relations in December 2017 and worked his way up from there. He was a Communication Specialist, an Alumni Director and Annual Fund Coordinator, and Director of Alumni Relations, Engagement and Leadership.

At each of these placements, Ferguson proved to be an agent of change and showed he was not afraid to put the hard work in to make sure the job was done right the first time. All that work paid off in November of 2022 when Ferguson gained the position he had been striving toward since late 2017: Director of Student Life.

Ferguson has big hopes for the future of Student Life and it all centers around the student experience. His vision, once he gets through the administration portion, is for students to have a seamless experience. Ferguson wants all the knowledge a student could ever need about campus or campus activities readily available and easy to access.

He wishes for Student Activities to become popular enough that the students get involved in planning and organizing them. Ferguson also hopes to use Student Life as a way to lighten the load on the student organizations of GSU and provide them support, so that all students, including organization leaders, can better enjoy their time here.