Professor and Associate Dean, Graduate School

Dr. Doerfert has been at Texas Tech since 2002 and became Associate Dean of the Graduate School in 2016.  Dr. Doerfert has been nationally recognized for his teaching, research and service being awarded the Distinguished Agricultural Communications Educator Award (2016) by the American Association for Agricultural Education who also inducted him as a Fellow in 2012.  At Texas Tech University, Dr. Doerfert is a member of the Teaching Academy and received the President's Excellence in Teaching award as well as Distinguished Teaching, Advising, and Service and Outreach awards from the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

In the Department, Dr. Doerfert teaches courses and advises students majoring in agricultural communications at the graduate level.  His graduate-level courses include ACOM 5302 Knowledge Management in Agricultural Sciences, ACOM 5304 Risk & Crisis Communications in Agriculture and Natural Resources, and ACOM 5307 Methods of Technological Change. His research program effectively weaves together two knowledge bases: (a) decision-making including the variables that influence the use of information to solve problems and make decisions including changes in behavior, and (b) science communication including the complexities of sharing and receiving agriculture between industry stakeholders and the public.

Dr. Doerfert was previously with Tech's agricultural communications program until his departure in 1990.  Born and raised on a dairy farm in southeast Wisconsin, Dr. Doerfert began his career as a high school agriculture instructor at New Holstein, Wisconsin. Dr. Doerfert has also been the state supervisor of agriculture and state FFA advisor in Wisconsin and an assistant professor in Agricultural Education and professor-in-charge of the agriculture distance education efforts at Iowa State University. Prior to returning to Lubbock, Dr. Doerfert was Team Leader in the Education Division at the National FFA Organization. In this position, he led a staff of 25 professionals focused on conferences, leadership programs, American degrees and proficiencies, scholarships, CDEs and the National FFA Convention. In addition, he served as publisher of the FFA New Horizons magazine and the staff contact for the national FFA officer selection process. Prior to his promotion to Team Leader, Dr. Doerfert was a development officer with the National FFA Foundation.

Dr. Doerfert holds a B.S. degree in agricultural education from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and a M.S. and Ph.D. from the Ohio State University.  Dr. Doerfert, his wife Jill and son Michael live in Wolfforth, TX.

Contact Dr. Doerfert at 806-834-4477 or david.doerfert@ttu.edu