News and Communications

Christopher Devine, associate professor, political science
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Devine is a leading expert on vice presidential candidates. He is co-author of Do Running Mates Matter? The Influence of Vice Presidential Candidates in Presidential Elections and The VP Advantage: How Running Mates Influence Home State Voting in Presidential Elections.

He also analyzed news coverage of the VP selection process to write What's Wrong with the ‘Veepstakes’? and examined whether presidential campaign visits influence voters for I’m Here to Ask for Your Vote.

His research interests also include the U.S. presidency and political ideology. He co-wrote “The Politics of the Presidential Medal of Freedom: A Fifty Year Analysis, 1963-2013,” which was featured in The New York Times. He teaches courses on the American political system, political parties, campaigns and elections. 

He is frequently quoted in national media, including NBC News, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, NPR, and others.

Dan Birdsong, lecturer, political science 
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Birdsong teaches courses on American politics; the presidency; campaigns and elections; media and politics; and public opinion and political behavior. He's co-author of “Fly-To County: The Midwest as Presidential Battleground, 1946-2016." He has a background in polling and policy research. He has researched how people consume news in an era of multiple sources and new media. Do people consume a variety of news sources or do they find news that fits their thinking? Is it possible to have a national discussion on any given issue when the sources of information often disagree? Media hits include "Debates not a done deal: Some candidates duck the underdogs" by The Associated Press.

Grant Neeley, associate professor, political science
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Neeley's research interests include public opinion, public administration and political behavior. He also teaches classes in morality policy, public sector human resource management and has published research on concealed carry laws and traffic safety. Neeley is a public affairs officer in the Navy Reserve. Media hits include an interview on polls by Westwood One Radio Network.

Miranda Cady Hallett, associate professor, sociology
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Hallett's primary research deals with Central American immigration to the United States; and within that, the cultural construction of law and its symbolic significance, rhetoric, and social scapegoating. Her research interests also include globalization and inequality, citizenship law and labor rights. She is fluent in Spanish. Media hits include "Sessions announces revamp of immigration law system" in The Christian Science Monitor.

Bob Taft, distinguished research associate
Former Ohio Governor (1999-2007)
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Taft teaches in the political science department. Before serving two terms as Ohio's governor, he was Ohio secretary of state for eight years, responsible for overseeing elections in Ohio. He serves on the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission and on the board of Battelle for Kids. As governor, Taft earned a strong reputation for school initiatives and continues to monitor state and national education reform initiatives. His father and grandfather were U.S. senators and his great-grandfather was President and Chief Justice William Howard Taft.

Vincent J. Miller, Gudorf Chair in Catholic Theology and Culture
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Miller is an expert on religion and politics; religion and consumer culture; the U.S. Catholic Church's involvement in politics and public policy; social justice and public policy; and the moral consequences of budgetary policies. He wrote Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture and edited The Theological and Ecological Vision of Laudato Si': Everything is Connected. Formerly of Georgetown University, Miller has been widely sought for his comments on the global financial crisis, Catholic social teaching and the federal budget's impact on the poor. Media hits include an interview with Bill O'Reilly.

Richard Stock, director, University of Dayton Business Research Group
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Stock is director of the University of Dayton's Business Research Group. He researches and monitors the Ohio economy, keeping an eye on trends in jobs, unemployment, housing sales, business and signs of recovery. Media hits include "Hey, Governors: You Didn’t Build That" by Politico.