Leaving an impact – Bobi Ivanov
Professor of Advertising Bobi Ivanov may be one of the newest faculty members at CJC, but his love for the Gator Nation goes way back.
“I’ve been looking forward to joining the Gator Nation in a more official capacity,” he said. “As a fan since high school, I now get a chance to work at my favorite university!”
Ivanov got his start in the advertising world as an undergrad, where he majored in marketing and received a Bachelor of Business Administration at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO). He would stay at UCO to enroll in their master’s program and receive a master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis on marketing research. He then earned his Ph.D. in Communication at the University of Oklahoma.
After completing his Ph.D., Ivanov returned to the University of Central Oklahoma as an assistant professor in their department of marketing, a job he held for three years before accepting a position as a professor of Integrated Strategic Communication at the University of Kentucky. During his time there, he also served as their Associate Dean for Graduate Programs in Communication and as a visiting professor at University American College Skopje. He spent the 2019–2020 academic year as a Fulbright Scholar in North Macedonia where he taught, guest-lectured, and collaborated with faculty from multiple universities and consulted with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
Now working at CJC, Ivanov continues to teach courses and conduct research on strategic communications. With his course, Social and Consumer Psychology in Advertising, he aims to teach students better advertising strategies by helping them understand the processes and motivations individuals use to make social and purchase decisions in different situations. Outside of the classroom, Ivanov’s research focuses on inoculation theory, or how consumer attitudes and beliefs can become resistant to persuasion or influence. He recently co-edited the “Handbook of Inoculation Theory and Practice,” the frst book-length manuscript on the theory since its introduction.
Although Ivanov has received many awards and honors throughout his career, what drives him the most is his ability to leave an impact on those around him. “For me, professional and personal accomplishments are reflected in the lives, successes and legacies of others my work has touched — in however small a part — and helped ignite or foster,” he explained. “I am proud of the awards and success my students and colleagues have amassed, the effort put forth by my co-editors to develop a permanent academic testament that commemorates the legacy work of our late advisor, and the time and love my wife and I have invested in our boys that helped create confident young men full of potential.”
Category: College News, Faculty Profiles, Profiles
Tagged: Advertising Bobi Ivanov Dean’s Report 2026
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