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Dhavan V. Shah

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Dhavan V. Shah
OccupationCommunication scholar
EmployerUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison
Known forPolitical communication, health communication, computational social science
TitleJack M. McLeod Professor of Communication Research
Louis A. & Mary E. Maier-Bascom Chair
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison (BA)
University of Minnesota (MA, PhD)

Dhavan V. Shah is an American communication scholar whose research focuses on political communication, health communication, and computational social science.[1] He is the Jack M. McLeod Professor of Communication Research and the Louis A. & Mary E. Maier-Bascom Chair at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he directs the Mass Communication Research Center (MCRC) and serves as research director for the Center for Communication and Civic Renewal (CCCR).[1][2][3][4]

His work examines how media, discussion, and digital technologies influence civic engagement, social judgments, and health outcomes. Notable publications include the books Battleground: Asymmetric Communication Ecologies and the Erosion of Civil Society in Wisconsin (2022) and News Frames and National Security: Covering Big Brother (2015), both published by Cambridge University Press.[5][6][7][8] Shah was elected a fellow of the International Communication Association in 2016 and received its B. Aubrey Fisher Mentorship Award in 2022.[9][10]

Early life and education

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Shah earned a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and mass communication from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1989.[11] He received a Master of Arts (1995) and a PhD (1999) in mass communication, with a minor in political psychology, from the University of Minnesota.[11]

Academic career

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Shah joined the University of Wisconsin–Madison as an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication in 1998, becoming associate professor in 2002 and full professor in 2004.[11] He was appointed the Louis A. & Mary E. Maier-Bascom Chair in 2006 and the Jack M. McLeod Professor of Communication Research in 2023.[4]

Since 2010, he has directed the Mass Communication Research Center.[2] Since 2020, he has served as research director of the Center for Communication and Civic Renewal, which is supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. In 2024 the center received a $3 million renewal grant from the Knight Foundation for 2024–2029.[3][12]

Shah holds affiliate appointments in industrial and systems engineering, marketing, and political science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.[1][13] He has collaborated with the Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies (CHESS) since 2011 on digital health interventions.[1]

He delivered the Robert M. Pockrass Memorial Lecture at Pennsylvania State University in 2023 and the William S. Morris III Distinguished Lecture at Texas Tech University in 2014.[14][15]

Research

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Shah’s research integrates experimental, survey, and computational methods to study political communication, framing effects, and health communication.[1]

In political communication, he developed the communication-mediation model, which links media use and interpersonal discussion to civic participation.[16] Through the CCCR, his work examines asymmetric media ecologies and their impact on civic life, as detailed in Battleground (2022).[5][6]

His framing research analyzes how news coverage shapes public opinion on national security and civil liberties, as explored in News Frames and National Security (2015), which received positive scholarly attention.[7][8][17]

In health communication, Shah has contributed to digital therapeutics, including a randomized trial of the A-CHESS smartphone application that reduced risky drinking days among patients recovering from alcoholism.[18]

Selected publications

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Books

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  • Battleground: Asymmetric Communication Ecologies and the Erosion of Civil Society in Wisconsin (2022, with Lewis A. Friedland et al.; Cambridge University Press).[5][6]
  • News Frames and National Security: Covering Big Brother (2015, with Douglas M. McLeod; Cambridge University Press).[7][8]

Articles

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  • Shah, Dhavan V.; Cho, Jaeho; Eveland, William P.; Kwak, Nojin (2005). "Information and expression in a digital age: Modeling Internet effects on civic participation". Communication Research. 32 (5): 531–565. doi:10.1177/0093650205279209.
  • Gustafson, David H.; McTavish, Fiona M.; Chih, Ming-Yuan; Atwood, Amy K.; Johnson, Roberta A.; Boyle, Michael G.; Shah, Dhavan V. (2014). "A smartphone application to support recovery from alcoholism: A randomized clinical trial". JAMA Psychiatry. 71 (5): 566–572. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.4642. PMC 4016167.

Awards and honors

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Dhavan Shah". University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Mass Communication Research Center". University of Wisconsin–Madison. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Center for Communication and Civic Renewal". University of Wisconsin–Madison. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "2023 WARF Named Professorships". Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation / University of Wisconsin–Madison. June 13, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Lewis A. Friedland; Dhavan V. Shah; Michael W. Wagner; Katherine Ognyanova; Chris Wells (2022). Battleground: Asymmetric Communication Ecologies and the Erosion of Civil Society in Wisconsin. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108925068. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "Battleground: Asymmetric Communication Ecologies…". Cambridge University Press. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c Douglas M. McLeod; Dhavan V. Shah (2015). News Frames and National Security: Covering Big Brother. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139022200. ISBN 9781139022200.
  8. ^ a b c "News Frames and National Security". Cambridge University Press. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  9. ^ a b "ICA Fellows". International Communication Association. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "B. Aubrey Fisher Mentorship Award". International Communication Association. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  11. ^ a b c "Curriculum Vitae – Dhavan V. Shah" (PDF). University of Wisconsin–Madison. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  12. ^ "CCCR Receives $3 Million Knight Foundation Renewal". Center for Communication and Civic Renewal. 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  13. ^ "Dhavan Shah – Industrial & Systems Engineering". University of Wisconsin–Madison. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  14. ^ "Visiting expert to speak on rising aggression in politics and communication". Penn State Bellisario College of Communications. September 25, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  15. ^ "William S. Morris III Distinguished Lecturer Series – Dhavan Shah". Texas Tech University. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  16. ^ Shah, Dhavan V.; Cho, Jaeho; Eveland, William P.; Kwak, Nojin (2005). "Information and expression in a digital age: Modeling Internet effects on civic participation". Communication Research. 32 (5): 531–565. doi:10.1177/0093650205279209.
  17. ^ Nacos, Brigitte L. (2015). "News Frames and National Security: Covering Big Brother (book review)". Public Opinion Quarterly. 79 (4): 1015–1017. doi:10.1093/poq/nfv044.
  18. ^ Gustafson, David H.; McTavish, Fiona M.; Chih, Ming-Yuan; Atwood, Amy K.; Johnson, Roberta A.; Boyle, Michael G.; Shah, Dhavan V. (2014). "A smartphone application to support recovery from alcoholism: A randomized clinical trial". JAMA Psychiatry. 71 (5): 566–572. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.4642. PMC 4016167.
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