Michael Ferguson, University of Arkansas
Michael (MJ) Ferguson is a rising senior at the University of Arkansas (UARK) pursuing a bachelor of arts in political science, African and African American studies, and international and global studies. As a member of the Fulbright Arts & Sciences Honors Program, Ferguson has received the Silas Hunt Scholarship and the 2026 NWA Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Council Academic Scholarship. As research manager for the UART Lab at UARK, he is co-authoring a manuscript on race-based traumatic stress and political behavior and engagement in southern, rural Black populations. He has contributed to collaborative research at the University of Michigan’s SROP investigating how race shapes public perceptions of policing. Ferguson has presented his research at the University of Michigan SROP Symposium and the Eldersveld Emerging Scholars Conference. Ferguson is developing a senior thesis examining how social media algorithms amplify racialized disinformation centered on Black politics. Beyond research, he has served as Vice President of Inclusion and Programming for the University’s Volunteer Action Center, directing the University’s 2026 Envisioning Justice Conference. Ferguson plans to pursue a Ph.D. in political science, focusing on American politics, race and ethnic politics, and political behavior, with aspirations to become a professor in the discipline.
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