Welcome to my website!

On here you will find information about my teaching, research, family life, and my CV. I currently serve as an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Wilkes University. I spent three wonderful years teaching on the tenure track at Lake Superior State University. Before that, I spent two years as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Miami University (OH). I finished my Ph.D. at Indiana University, Bloomington in July 2015. I also hold a M.A. from the J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies at Baylor University.

My research interests within American politics are: Political Communication, Political Psychology, as well as religion and politics. The central question of my work is how elites attempt to communicate with the public, and how we (the public) respond to this communication. I have published on the role of moderation and its effects on reelection for members of Congress, along with work on campaign strategy by local and Congressional candidates. For more information on my research, please see my research page.

My teaching interests are broad. I am passionate about making the institutions of American government more understandable and interesting to students. I enjoy teaching courses on American political behavior, such as: Public Opinion, Persuasion and Political News, and a course on Campaigns and Elections in the United States. My varied educational background also makes me interested in Latin America, and Religion and Politics (both domestic and abroad). For more on my teaching, please see my teaching page. To see all of my teaching evaluations that are electronically available, please click here.

For a link to my current CV, please see the CV page.

For a link to information about my life outside of the academy, please see my personal page.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at toll.ben@gmail.com.