Faculty Profile
Dr. Chuck Comegys, Ph.D., Ciejek Chair of Business

What makes a great business professor?

John Adams stated, “There are two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live.” Chuck Comegys, Ciejek Chair of Business and Associate Professor of Marketing in the Girard School of Business and International Commerce says he hopes that he has had an impact on the education in both these areas for the thousands of students he has had the pleasure to interact with at Merrimack College. 

Dr. Comegys joined Merrimack College in 1974. He was attracted to Merrimack because of the emphasis placed on excellence in teaching and close student faculty interaction.  In addition to helping students develop their knowledge, skills, and judgment over the years, he has contributed to the Business School and the College in a multitude of capacities such as serving as Chair of the Department of Marketing and Management, as Director of Marketing Internship Programs, as Director of AACSB Assessment, and as Chair of the AACSB Faculty Committee.  Dr. Comegys also has been on the faculty at Harvard University; Northeastern University; the University of Massachusetts, Boston; California State University, Long Beach; Boston College; and Salem State College. Professor Comegys served as a Research Associate with Robert Finnegan Associates and with Armer Research Counsel. Prior to his full-time academic career, he was Research Assistant with the Institute of Regional Affairs in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.  “My philosophy of teaching has always included treating every student with respect as you join with them in challenging and demanding educational experiences,” says Dr. Comegys.

Dr. Comegys’ research interests include research methodologies and Internet purchase behavior. His case studies have appeared in textbooks and his articles appear in numerous publications including Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, Journal of Internet Commerce, Journal of Business Education, Journal of Small Business Management, Journal of the Academy of Business Education, Management Research, Atlanta Economic Review, Operations Management Review, Marketing News, and a forthcoming article in the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice.

Dr. Comegys also has been a frequent speaker in industry and professional conferences. He has conducted management training workshops and consulted for many organizations. Chuck served as President of the Boston Chapter of the American Marketing Association and was elected to serve on the AMA’s International Board of Directors as their Vice President – Northeastern Region. He also served as Conference Coordinator for the Fifth AMA International Collegiate Conference, as Chairman of AMA’s Large Chapter Leadership Workshop, and he spent many years as Faculty Advisor to Merrimack College’s Collegiate Chapter of the AMA. Additionally, Chuck has served on the Board of Directors of the Marketing Research Association, New England Chapter, and the Merrimack College Federal Credit Union. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Marketing Educators’ Association.    

Chuck earned a B.S. degree in Commerce and Finance from Wilkes University, an M.B.A. from California State University; a C.A.G.S. in Organizational Behavior from Northeastern University; and a Ph.D. in Marketing and Administration from Boston College.

Chuck’s teaching talents also are evident in another environment…one that is quite different from Merrimack’s academic halls. Chuck is a technical deep diving SCUBA instructor who teaches the safe use of mixed gases and rebreathers. He has been diving all over the world for many years. He has logged thousands of dives in New England, Florida, California, the Virgin Islands, Hawaii, Jamaica, Bonaire, Cozumel, Bermuda, Turks and Caicos, and the Red Sea. He has traveled 300 miles southwest off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica to dive in schools of hammerhead sharks and with manta rays around the Cocos Island and off the coast of Columbia by Malpelo Island. Chuck also has dove on the famous wrecks of Truk Lagoon and in the waters of Palau and Yap, Micronesia. Additionally, Chuck has enjoyed several shark dives (in a cage) off the coast of Rhode Island. Lastly, Chuck has participated in several eight-day treks through the wilderness of the Titon Mountains on horseback. No stranger to adventure, he also participates in white-water rafting, skydiving, and snowmobiling. He was the Faculty Advisor for the Merrimack College Ski Club for many years. Sergeant Comegys served his country in the United State Marine Corp as a non-commissioned communications office E-5. He also is a certified real estate broker in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. When time permits, he plays hockey several times a week.

Dr. Comegys recently said, “It’s been an honor to teach at Merrimack and watch the successes of so many of our students. As a Merrimack professor, the main thing I have tried to impart to students is that we never stop learning.” According to Dr. Comegys, our education about how to make a living and how to live never ceases.

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