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Election 2024 experts guide

University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, Reno faculty offer a range of expertise related to the 2024 elections. Please email the University communications team to schedule an interview with one of the experts below. 

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History of U.S.-Mexico borderlands; United States, Mexican American and Latina/o/x history; history of (im)migration

Michael Aguirre

Dr. Michael D. Aguirre

Assistant professor in Mexican-American, Chicana/o/x and/or U.S. – Mexico borderlands

Research focuses on United States, Mexican American and Latina/o/x history and the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. Some of his research interests include the political economy, labor, (im)migration, race and healthcare in the context of Mexican American history. His first book project focused on the Western U.S.-Mexico borderlands from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Corporations’ political connections and stock performance; political science and finance

Shaddy Douidar

Dr. Shaddy Douidar

Assistant professor of finance

Conducts research in asset pricing, information asymmetry (investors are provided with different subsets of information, which can limit the potential trades that they engage in), and political science and finance. His political science and finance research is centered on corporations’ political connections and their implications on firm stock return performance. He teaches courses in managerial finance, capital management, financial institutions and markets, and the financial planning process.

Libel law; First Amendment; public records; journalists’ access to place; protest rights

Patrick File

Dr. Patrick File

Associate professor of media law and graduate director

Research focuses on how journalism is defined and regulated at the intersection of law, technology and professional practices. He is an expert in libel law related to mailers, advertisements and other campaign speech, journalists’ access to information (public records) and access to places (i.e. polling places and candidates’ events), and First Amendment-protected protest rights. His book, published in January 2019 by the University of Massachusetts Press, is titled “Bad News Travels Fast: The Telegraph, Libel, and Press Freedom in the Progressive Era.”

Sociology of race and ethnicity; migration; citizenship

Prisca Gayles

Dr. Prisca Gayles

Assistant professor of sociology and gender, race and identity

Investigates the role of emotions in transnational Black social movements with a broader research goal of understanding the diverse ways that blackness is politicized across the African diaspora and used as a tool to demand racial justice in spaces of black invisibility. Her research interests include Black feminist theory, the sociology of race and ethnicity, social movements, and migration and citizenship.

American politics; presidential politics; Congress; state and local politics

Jeremy Gelman

Dr. Jeremy Gelman

Associate professor of political science and director of graduate studies

Research focuses on American political institutions, with an emphasis on policymaking and partisanship in the United States Congress. He has commented on American and ÁùºÏ±¦µä politics and elections for national and international news organizations including ABC News, Bloomberg News, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Los Angeles Times, NBC News and The New York Times. He is an expert on the American political process, the presidency, Congress, state and local politics, and research methods.

Local government; civic engagement; government technology

Brad Johnson

Dr. Brad A. M. Johnson

Assistant professor of public administration

Research focuses on local government, civic engagement, government technology, organizational theory and public management. Before academia, Johnson worked with over 200 local government entities across the United States as an employee and consultant. He is currently working on how AI is being used in local government organizations, how public organizations reform over time and how human resources processes are shaping the public workforce.

Political psychology; cultural psychology; intergroup relations

Markus Kemelmeier

Dr. Markus Kemmelmeier

Vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate School

Research focuses on cultural psychology, political psychology, interaction and social cognition and intergroup relations. He is an expert on advanced statistical methods. Some of his research interests have included the shrinking personality differences between conservatives and liberals as well as the impact and implications of ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity on the development of attitudes toward voting and the democratic debate.

Marketing and societal issues; marketing and ethical behavior

Bret Leary

Dr. Bret Leary

Associate professor of marketing

Research focuses on marketing and societal issues, marketing management and strategy, marketing communications, and marketing ethics and ethical behavior. He is an expert on consumer well-being and the motivations behind ethical and sustainable behavior in the marketplace. His research interests include marketplace influence and risk decision-making.

Civic/citizenship education; civic engagement; democratic and human rights education

Ian McGregor

Dr. Ian McGregor

Assistant professor of secondary education

Scholarship focuses on social studies teacher preparation, human rights education, and civics/citizenship education with an emphasis on teaching difficult history and controversial topics. His current research focuses on how teachers and students conceptualize citizenship education and civic engagement. 

Political orientation influence on consumption; marketing

Deepika Naidu

Dr. Deepika Naidu

Assistant professor of marketing

Research focuses the influence of political orientation on consumption and marketplace diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. She is an expert in digital marketing, retail management and consumer behavior. Her research interests include consumer health and well-being, diversity, equity, and inclusion, identity, retailing, and food marketing.

Fake news; deep fakes; social media and politics; online commenting and uncivil behavior

Paromita Pain

Dr. Paromita Pain

Associate professor of global media

Research focuses on alternate media and global journalism practices, including work related to fake news and deep fakes on social media and online commenting and uncivil behavior’s impacts on journalistic practices. She was previously a journalist for The Hindu Newspaper, Al Jazeera and The Guardian. Her research interests include examining epistemological concerns raised by emerging forms of media that are hybrids between old and new forms and between citizen and professional news practices.

Political campaign rhetoric; social movement advocacy; protest/First Amendment; deliberative democracy

Amy Pason

Dr. Amy Pason

Associate professor of communication studies, specializing in rhetoric

Research and teaching centers on multiple facets of democracy in the US, especially in the ways that we can foster and support democratic culture. She has explored advocacy strategies of activists, intersections of the First Amendment and protest, and public deliberation of legislation. She teaches courses on facilitation to help students develop skills for deliberation and understand how to engage across differences to solve society’s “wicked problems.” To address and understand partisan and polarized political language, she is collaborating with the , to evaluate ÁùºÏ±¦µä state and local election materials utilizing the , to understand how divisive campaigning is in the Silver State.

Aging; memory; quality of life for elders; geriatrics health care services

Peter Reed

Professor of public health and director of the Sanford Center for Aging

Research focuses on aging, memory concerns, community-based elder care services and geriatrics health care services. As a public health gerontologist, he is dedicated to service elders and supporting quality of life. As a frequent author and speaker, he has published more than 50 papers, monographs, book chapters and keynote presentations.