Becker recently joined the faculty of the Department of Communication at Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore as an Assistant Professor. From 2010 to 2014, she worked as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mass Communication and Communication Studies at Towson University.
Her research focuses on four areas in the field of communication: (1) public opinion and citizen participation on controversial political issues, (2) the political effects of exposure and attention to hybrid media, especially political comedy and entertainment, (3) new media and computational research methods, and (4) science communication.
She has published in a variety of communication and interdisciplinary social science journals including Human Communication Research, The International Journal of Press/Politics, The International Journal of Public Opinion Research, Mass Communication & Society, Political Communication, and Social Science Quarterly. She often offers media commentary on her research, political comedy, public opinion, polling, and the new media environment. This year, she is beginning a two-year term as Research/Paper Competition Chair for the Political Communication Interest Group (PCIG) of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC).
This year at Loyola, Becker is teaching CM203: Introduction to Communication and CM342: Media, Culture, and Society. At Towson, she taught MCOM 490: Mass Communication Research, the department’s Capstone course for graduating seniors, MCOM 631: Research Methods in Mass Communication for MA students, MCOM431/550: Public Opinion and the Press, and a freshmen writing seminar, “Popular Culture & Politics: Comedy, Entertainment, Celebrity, and Democracy,” that brought her research into the classroom.
Becker graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2010, earning her Ph.D. from the joint graduate program in Mass Communications. She was advised by Dietram Scheufele and was affiliated with both the Department of Life Sciences Communication and the School of Journalism & Mass Communication. While completing her Ph.D., she served as a Project Assistant at the University of Wisconsin Survey Center.
Before graduate school, Becker worked in the world of political polling and corporate market research, providing analysis and strategic insight to political candidates running for national and state office and for major corporations looking to redefine their brand image.
Becker graduated from Brown University with an A.B. in Political Science in 2000. Before enrolling at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she completed graduate coursework at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California.
While Becker and her family are enjoying life in Columbia, MD, as a New Jersey native, she remains a loyal fan of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band.