Gregory T. Donovan

Gregory T. Donovan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University, where he also serves as an affiliate faculty member in both the Urban Studies and New Media & Digital Design programs. He is the Principal Investigator of the Initiative on Migrants, Migration, and Human Dignity and a Faculty Fellow in the Thriving in Community Grantmaker Program (EPA Region 2). His academic career at Fordham spans from Assistant Professor (2014-2020) to his current position as Associate Professor (2020-present), with additional leadership roles including Director of the New Media and Digital Design Program (2020-2022).

Donovan earned his PhD in Environmental Psychology with a certification in Interactive Technology and Pedagogy from The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where he received Distinguished Honors for his dissertation. He also holds an MA in Psychology from Hunter College of the City University of New York and a BA in Psychology with a Certificate in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Marymount Manhattan College.

His research explores the mutual shaping of people, place, and proprietary media, with a focus on how to reorient such relationships toward more just and meaningful publics. Donovan's work centers on digital migration studies, platform urbanism, social (re)production and digital youth, participatory action research and design, and geographies of surveillance. He investigates how youth navigate and shape digital environments, particularly examining the proprietary ecology of everyday data and the implications for privacy, agency, and social justice in smart cities. His scholarship consistently engages with questions of power, equity, and resistance in digitally mediated urban spaces.

Donovan's scholarly output reveals a consistent trajectory examining the intersection of digital media, urban spaces, and social justice. His work spans critical analyses of smart city technologies, participatory design methods with youth, and explorations of how proprietary platforms shape everyday experiences. A recurring theme is the tension between surveillance and empowerment in digital environments, particularly as experienced by young people in urban contexts. His research has evolved from examining gated communities and physical urban spaces to focusing on digital platforms and datafication in contemporary urban life.

• 2017: Principal Investigator, Strategic Research Consortium on Digital Scholarship, Fordham University
• 2015: Finalist, HASTAC Digital Trust Challenge, Fordham University
• 2013: Distinguished Honors for Dissertation, CUNY Graduate Center
• 2012-13: Provost's University Fellowship, CUNY Graduate Center
• 2011: Presidential Research Fund, CUNY Graduate Center

As an educator, Donovan has taught courses including Digital Media and Migration Justice, Mapping Injustice, Designing Smart Cities for Social Justice, and Digital Media and Public Responsibility, reflecting his commitment to community-engaged learning. He has been actively involved in shaping curriculum around digital media and social justice, with particular attention to how students can develop critical perspectives on technology and urban life. His teaching philosophy emphasizes participatory methods and public scholarship, encouraging students to engage with communities beyond the classroom.

Donovan is deeply engaged with research collectives and initiatives, most notably as co-chair of the Mapping (In)Justice Symposium and as a founder of the OpenCUNY Academic Medium. His work with the Initiative on Migrants, Migration, and Human Dignity demonstrates his commitment to research that addresses pressing social issues through interdisciplinary collaboration. He has also been instrumental in developing frameworks for participatory action research that challenge proprietary knowledge production in digital environments, creating spaces where students and community members can co-create knowledge and develop alternative approaches to digital citizenship.