Politics and Elections : Faculty Experts

Christopher Devine, assistant professor, political science
Profile | Media hits | Video | PR contact 

Devine 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 teaches courses on the American political system, political parties, campaigns and elections. 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. Media hits include "Holding their convention in Wisconsin could help Democrats in 2020. Here’s the evidence" in the Washington Post's Monkey Cage.

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.

Nancy Martorano Miller, associate professor, political science
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Miller's primary research interest is the state legislative process. She also conducts research in the areas of Southern politics, political parties, interest groups, public opinion and state legislative politics. She formerly served as associate editor of State Politics and Policy Quarterly. Media hits include "More Americans are suing over gerrymandered state maps – but the Supreme Court is not likely to step in" via The Conversation.

Grant Neeley, associate professor & chair, 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.

Joe Valenzano III, associate professor & chair, communication
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Valenzano's research interests include rhetoric and public communication; political communication; religious communication and culture; and communication education. His doctoral dissertation focused on President George W. Bush’s use of the words "freedom" and "terror." His other research articles include: President Obama's understanding of American exceptionalism; Pope John Paul II's death as a final homily; and Pope Benedict XVI's trip to Turkey. Media hits include "Trump administration reviewing EPA website, curbs agency communication" by CNN.

Randy Sparks, professor, marketing
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Sparks is less interested in what politicians say than in how they say it. With a background in radio broadcasting and research in the art of persuasion, Sparks is highly attuned to how convincing candidates are in speeches. His persuasion research has appeared in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology. Media hits include "Hillary Clinton gets some old advice for her historic speech: Be yourself" in USA Today.

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.

Michelle Pautz, professor, political science
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Pautz's research focuses on environmental policy and regulation; government accountability; film and politics; and the administration of policy. She has worked with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources to develop and implement EPA compliance programs. She co-wrote US Environmental Policy in Action: Practice and Implementation and The Lilliputians of Environmental Regulation: The Perspective of State Regulators. Media hits include coverage of her research on the portrayal of civil servants in popular films: "How movies can change our minds" by The New York Times.

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.

David Salisbury, director, Center for Cybersecurity & Data Intelligence
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Salisbury's areas of expertise include cybersecurity and criminal and terrorist use of information technology. His published articles include "On Contending with Unruly Neighbors in the Global Village: Viewing Information Systems as Both Weapon and Target" in the journal Communications of the Association for Information Systems. Media hits include Data breaches are inevitable – here’s how to protect yourself anyway in The Conversation.

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.

Mark Ensalaco, director of human rights studies
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Ensalaco can discuss terrorism and how politicians could handle foreign policy as it relates to world dictators and transitions of power. He is fluent in Spanish. Media hits include "Paris attacks lead Americans to wonder about US safety" by The Associated Press.

Joel Pruce, assistant professor, political science
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Pruce's research interests include human rights, foreign policy and international organization. His published articles include "Constituencies of Compassion: The Politics of Human Rights and Consumerism" for Uses and Misuses of Human Rights. Media hits include "The Future of Policing Is Here, and It's Terrifying" by GQ.