Mike Wagner

Associate Professor & Louis A. Maier Faculty Development Fellow

Michael W. Wagner is associate professor and Louis A. Maier Faculty Development Fellow in the University of Wisconsin’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He directs the Physiology and Communication Effects (PACE) Lab and holds affiliations with the Department of Political Science, the La Follette School of Public Affairs, the Elections Research Center, the Mass Communication Research Center, the Center for Communication and Democracy and the Tommy G. Thompson Leadership Center.

He’s published more than 40 books, journal articles and edited book chapters in the areas of political communication, partisan polarization, journalism, public opinion and psychophysiology in outlets such as Journal of Communication, Annual Review of Political Science, and Human Communication Research. His most recent book, co-authored with Beth Theiss-Morse, is Political Behavior of the American Electorate.

A former radio/television news reporter and anchor, Wagner is an award-winning teacher and advisor. He is the current Forum editor in the journal Political Communication and is a regular guest host on the local radio program, “A Public Affair.” He earned his Ph.D. in 2006 from Indiana University and his Bachelor of Journalism degree in 1998 from the University of Nebraska.