Position
Academic Background  
Sample Courses  
Teaching Philosophy   
Research & Interests   
Notable Academic Appointments & Awards  
Publication Highlights   
             Selected Scholarly Presentations                     

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Position            

• Professor of Political Science

Academic Background         

• Kent State University - Ph.D., 1976
• Arizona State University - M.A., 1972
• Western Washington University - B.A., 1969

Sample Courses Taught at Providence College  

• American Politics
• Introduction to Empirical Political Analysis
• Mass Media and Politics
• Elections and Electoral Behavior
• Law and Society
• Public Opinion
• Senior Seminar: Research Methods
• Capstone Seminar: Generational Politics
• Seminar: Political Psychology

Teaching Philosophy            

My philosophy of education is profoundly influenced by an article by Robert Barr and John Tagg titled From Teaching to Learning--A New Paradigm for Undergraduate Education. The authors distinguish between the dominant Teaching Paradigm and the emerging Learning Paradigm. The traditional Teaching Paradigm puts the instructor at the center of the educational process where the goal is to deliver knowledge to students, usually in the form of fifty-minute lectures. Under the Teaching Paradigm the instructor is active and the student is a passive. In contrast the Learning Paradigm puts the student at the center of the educational process where the goal is to encourage student learning by a variety of means. Faculty create environments and activities where students can construct knowledge for themselves.

Consistent with the Learning Paradigm I aim to create learning activities that engage students and provide them with the freedom to pursue their particular interests. Often the learning activities I find useful involve instructional technology to encourage knowledge building through activities such as online discussions and the creation of wikis. I also emphasize original research by my students on topics of their choice. Undergraduate research is a key to engagement and the construction of knowledge. I constantly search for new structures and learning activities that might put students at the center of the learning process.

Research & Interests               

• American Politics and Political Behavior
• Mass Media and Politics
• Parties and Elections
• Public Opinion
• Political Psychology

Notable Academic Appointments and Awards

• American Politics Research, Editorial Board, 1997-2003
• Chair of the Political Science Department, 1995-1999
• Fulbright Scholar, Jozsef Attila University, Szeged, Hungary, 1991-1992
• National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Post-Doc on Human Nature and Politics, Stanley Rothman, Director, Smith College, Northampton, MA, summer, 1979

Publication Highlights

Books:

• Doing Empirical Political Research (with Mark S. Hyde) (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 2003)
• Prime-Time Law Enforcement: Crime Show Viewing and Attitudes Toward the Criminal Justice System (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1985).

Articles:

• (With Rebecca Trichtinger) "Perspectives on Entertainment Television's Portrayal of a Racial Incident: An Intensive Analysis."  The Communication Review 4 (2001): 253-278.
• "Television Viewing: Cultivating Perceptions of Affluence and Support for Capitalism," Political Communication (July-September, 1993): 243-258.
• "Subjective Ideological Similarity Between Candidates and Supporters: A Study of Party Elites," Political Psychology 11 (September, 1990): 485-492.
• (With Barbara Burrell and Kathleen Dolan) "Issue Positions and Campaign Activity at National, State, and Local Levels: An Analysis of State Party Convention Delegates," Political Behavior (Summer, 1989): 273-287.
• "Crime Show Viewing by Preadults: The Impact on Attitudes Toward Civil Liberties," Communication Research: An International Quarterly (October, 1983): 529-552.
• "Politics and Interpersonal Attraction," American Politics Quarterly 7 (January, 1979): 120-126.

Selected Scholarly Presentations and Activities

• Student Journals and Integrated Learning Experiences in Political Science Courses" (Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL, April, 1998)
• "Television Viewing and Political Intolerance: A Cultivation Analysis" (Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Western Political Science Association, Portland, Oregon, March 1995)
• "Ideology and Policy Preferences on Local Issues: An Intensive Analysis" (Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL, April 1993)
• (With Bruce McKeown) "An Experimental Study of the Influence of Religious Elites on Public Opinion" (Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington, DC, August 30, 1986)
• "The Impact of Ethnicity on Candidate Image" (Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Northeastern Political Science Association, New Haven, CT, November 18-20, 1982)
• (With Mark S. Hyde) "Situations and Party Activist Role Orientations: A Q Study" (Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, April 29-May 1, 1982)

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