Elliott School Professors Martha Finnemore and Michael Barnett were listed as the No. 1 and No. 11 scholars, respectively, who produced the most interesting scholarship in the past five years in the 2011 Teaching, Research and International Policy (TRIP) survey 
, which included responses from 1,582 international relations faculty members.
Sean Aday
Associate Professor of Media and Public Affairs and International Affairs
Director, Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication
Director, M.A. program in Global Communication
Office: 805 21st Street, N.W., Room 430
Phone: (202) 994-4220
Fax: (202) 994-5806
E-mail: seanaday@gwu.edu
Education:
Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
Expertise:
Political communication; media coverage of war, politics, and foreign policy; media effects and public opinion, including political and international trust
Background:
Sean Aday joined The George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs in 2000, after completing his Ph.D. and a post-doctoral fellowship at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. His work focuses on the intersection of the press, politics, and public opinion, especially in relation to war and foreign policy. He has published widely on subjects ranging from the effects of watching local television news to coverage of Elizabeth Dole's presidential run to media coverage of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As part of a National Science Foundation grant, he, along with two colleagues, conducted a series of surveys about Americans' attitudes about government and media following the September 11th terrorist attacks. Dr. Aday was also the principal investigator for DC Student Voices, a curriculum-based project in Washington DC high schools that aims to get students more involved in politics. He has been a frequent commentator in the press on news coverage of elections, crime, and war.
Before entering academia, Dr. Aday served as a general assignment reporter for the Kansas City Star in Kansas City, MO; the Milwaukee Journal in Milwaukee, WI; and the Greenville News in Greenville, SC. He graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in 1990.