David Sutton may be a failed rose gardener, but he always knows how to make his students laugh.
Sutton, professor of communication, attended Auburn's graduate school for speech communication.
He began teaching full time in 1993 when he became the director of public speaking.
Since, Sutton has taught a multitude of classes in the communication and journalism department with his favorite being Foundations of Rhetoric.
"I like the Foundations of Rhetoric the best," Sutton said. "I think I like it because I get to be more of a show and be a little bit bigger on stage."
Sutton's colleague, Robert Agne, professor of communication, said he hears only great things from Sutton's students.
"I can tell he has a knack for leading class discussion, and I think that is a lot harder than most people think," Agne said. "Leading productive and yet enjoyable class discussions so that the discussion is guided, but still feels like everybody can meander is hard to do."
Martie Fulk, senior in communication, said Sutton is one of her favorite professors not only in the department, but also at all of Auburn.
"Even though some of his classes haven't been my favorite topics, he makes them relatable to us," Fulk said. "If you ask any student or colleague of Sutton's, they will say that he is the funniest person they know."
Sutton did not fare as well with his roses as he does with his students.
"I wish I could say growing roses (is a hobby)," Sutton said. "I felt like it was something a gentleman scholar would do."
Besides trying to grow roses, Sutton spends his time playing golf and watching Netflix.
He is also preparing for his daughter, Allison, to get married.
"I am involuntarily involved in the wedding planning," Sutton said.
Along with planning a wedding comes a lot of expenses, but Sutton has been excited about finding discounts.
"If they want to make me happy with this wedding planning stuff, before you tell me anything say, 'Dave, you got the best deal,'" he said.
To find out more about his students, Sutton uses a question of the day to make calling roll more enjoyable.
"Questions of the day are my favorite classroom tool, like, 'What is your biggest turn off?'" Sutton said. "Mine is poor dental hygiene--got to have fresh breath. My nightmare is to be trapped in an elevator with someone with bad breath."
Sutton also does not like ketchup on his hot dogs, but prefers total chocolate Cadbury eggs and only plain Krispy Kremes.
Along with being the funniest professor in the department, Sutton is also patient and appreciated, Agne said.
"He doesn't fancy himself more than he is, but he is always there and people look to him and he does so without bells and whistles," Agne said.
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