Political Science Faculty and Staff
Craig Leonard Brians
Associate Professor and Associate Chair in Political Science
Ph.D., University of California at Irvine, 1997
Ph.D., University of California at Irvine, 1997
His research focuses on public opinion, mass media impacts on political knowledge and behavior, and voter registration and turnout. Professor Brians has published articles in the American Political Science Review , American Journal of Political Science , Presidential Studies Quarterly , Public Choice , Political Research Quarterly , and other leading journals. He is the principal co-author of Empirical Political Analysis , Seventh edition (2008 Longman).
Brians provides interpretation of elections and political participation to publications ranging from the Los Angeles Times to the Boston Globe, and electronic media ranging from Wisconsin Public Radio to WDBJ-7 TV. Additionally, he provides live election-night commentary on WVTF-FM.
In the past several years Brians' teaching efforts have been acknowledged by his colleagues and students, alike. He was voted the favorite professor by the students of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association, won the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences Certificate of Teaching Excellence, and been honored with the Faculty Appreciation Award from the Political Science Club. Professor Brians teaches undergraduate courses in American politics, elections, political communications, public opinion, and Political Science research methods, as well as graduate research methods.E-mail: Craig Brians