Welcome to my website!

On here you will find information about my teaching, research, family life, and my CV. I currently serve as an Associate Professor of Political Science at Wilkes University. I spent three years 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.

I have been lucky enough to win multiple awards for my teaching over the years. I won the Outstanding New Professor of the Year at Wilkes in 2021-2022. I won the Innovative and Non-Traditional Teaching Award at Wilkes for the 2022-2023 academic year. I also won the President’s Award for Outstanding Scholarship in 2024 at Wilkes University.

I believe it is very important to be active in the life of the University. I have served on the Honors Program Advisory Council at both Lake State and Wilkes University. I have chaired multiple committees over the years, and currently serve as the chair of the Faculty Affairs Council (faculty governance structure) at Wilkes University.

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.