University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law

The urban public law school with a small liberal arts feel

Kenneth D. Ferguson Associate Professor of Law; B.A. (Drake University); J.D. (O.W. Coburn School of Law) email 816-235-2386 Class Links Vita A professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Law School since 1992, Kenneth D. Ferguson currently teaches Contracts and Commercial Transactions, Secured Transactions, Debtors’ & Creditors’ Rights, Sports Law and Entertainment Law. Ferguson earned his J.D. from O.W. Coburn Law School at Oral Roberts University in 1986. Before joining the law faculty, Ferguson worked as a law clerk for Chief Judge Dennis Stewart of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri. He practiced later at Shughart, Thomson & Kilroy in Kansas City, specializing in bankruptcy litigation and corporate law. His scholarship covers bankruptcy, commercial transactions and has recently expanded to sports law. His most recent publication, Blurring the Boundary Lines between Amateur and Professional Sports, will appear in the 2008 Sports Law Symposium issue of UMKC Law Review. Ferguson also served on the Board of Directors for Swope Park Health Center during a critical period of that organization’s history. During his service on the Board from 1987 to 2004, Swope Park Health Center developed into a nationally recognized inner city outpatient health care delivery center, becoming a national model for inner city health service delivery and urban economic revitalization. Ferguson is nationally recognized for his work with USA Track & Field, the national governing body for the United States Olympic Track & Field Program. His service on the governing body’s Restructuring Task Force, Law & Legislation Committee, and service as Chair of the Background Screen Review Panel earned him the 2006 USATF President’s Award. As Chair, Ferguson instituted UMKC Law School’s inaugural Sports Law Symposium that featured NCAA’s President, Myles Brand, and New York Times columnist and author, William Rhoden. Under the NCAA Division I governance restructuring, Professor Ferguson was named to the NCAA Division 1 Committee on Academic Performance, one of four committees that report directly to the NCAA Board of Directors. Professor Ferguson was also appointed to Division I Awards, Benefits, Expenses and Financial Aid Cabinet . He is the current chair of the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Intercollegiate Athletic Committee and is the University’s Faculty Athletics Representative to the NCAA and the Summit League. UMKC’s Chancellor, Guy Bailey, appointed Professor Ferguson Co-Chair of the University’s Commission on Black Studies.