Douglas Whitman is a professor emeritus of business law at the University of Kansas School of Business. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Knox College in 1970; a Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri, Columbia, in 1973; an MBA from KU in 1975; and a Master of Laws from the University of Missouri at Kansas City in 1982.

Whitman’s research interests included the areas of professional advertising, jurisprudence, and negotiation. He published articles dealing with advertising by professionals, as well as articles dealing with commercial speech, antitrust, products liability, negotiable instruments, and other topics. He taught graduate- and undergraduate-level courses dealing with commercial law. Whitman retired from KU after 43 years in 2019.