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Doctoral Student
American Politics

• Fields of Study

  • American Politics, Behavior, Media Politics, Law & Politics

• About

  Mike's primary research interests include public opinion and political behavior, political communication, and judicial behavior.  His dissertation synthesizes a range of research by exploring the effects of Supreme Court decisions on mass media and the public at large.  This ongoing project focuses on how news outlets respond to signals sent by dissenters on the Court, which ultimately impacts the extent to which a ruling can effectively frame public debate.  

• Education

  • Miami University, Bachelor of Arts, Political Science and History, 2007

• Awards

  • Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship Program Nominee, Department of Political Science (2013)
  • Phi Beta Kappa (2007)
  • Gary L. Best Memorial Scholarship, awarded to outstanding third-year Political Science student (2006, Miami University)

• Grants

  • Gerald R. Ford Fellowship, Department of Political Science, tuition, stipend, research grant (2011-2013, 2 years)
  • Thesis Grant, Department of Political Science, grant (2011)
  • IDEAS / IGERT Fellowship, Center for the Study of Complex Systems, tuition and stipend (2007-2008)

• Presentations

  • “The Court of Public Opinion: Responses to Contradictory Cues from the Media and Supreme Court.” International Society for Political Psychology, July 2012
  • “Mediated Justice: Understanding the Nature and Determinants of Public Responses to Supreme Court Decisions.” Midwest Political Science Association National Conference, April 2012
  • “‘I Respectfully Dissent’: The Effect of Elite Disagreement on Media Framing of Supreme Court Decisions.” Midwest Political Science Association National Conference, April 2011

• Dissertation Title

  • The Court Speaks, the Public Decides

• Dissertation Chair

  • Nancy Burns

• Dissertation Committee

  • Charles Shipan, Ted Brader, Phoebe Ellsworth (Psychology)