Draft:Michael X. Delli Carpini

Michael X. Delli Carpini (born 1953) is a distinguished American scholar. He is the Oscar H. Gandy Emeritus Professor of Communication and Democracy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication. He served as the Walter H. Annenberg Dean at University of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2018, returning to the faculty in 2019 before moving to emeritus status in 2022. During his time at Penn, he also held a secondary appointment in the Department of Political Science.

Education
Delli Carpini pursued his undergraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and English literature in 1975.

He obtained a Master of Arts degree in political science from the University of Pennsylvania in the same year.

In 1980, Delli Carpini completed his formal education by earning a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Minnesota.

Research
Delli Carpini is a scholar in the disciplines of political science and communication, dedicating his research to understanding the factors that facilitate or inhibit the role of citizens within the democratic process. During his career he has written on topics such as generational politics, political knowledge, political deliberation, entertainment and politics, and the impact of mass media and communication technologies on democracy.

Career
Before joining the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania in 2003, Delli Carpini held the position of Director of the Public Policy program at the Pew Charitable Trusts from 1999 to 2003.

He chaired the political science department at Barnard College from 1995 until 1999, and was part of the graduate faculty of Columbia University from 1987 to 2002.

His academic career began as an Assistant Professor in the political science Department at Rutgers University from 1980 to 1987.

He has also served on the advisory boards of numerous public interest organizations, including the Pew Research Center, the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, the Lenfest Institute, and the American Association for Public Opinion Research.

Honors
Delli Carpini's book What Americans Know About Politics and Why It Matters won the 2007 Best Book Award from the American Association for Public Opinion Research. He also won the 2008 Murray Edelman Distinguished Career Award from the Political Communication Division of the American Political Science Association. In 2018, he was elected as a Fellow of the International Communication Association, and he was named the inaugural faculty director of University of Pennsylvania's SNF Paideia Program in 2019. He has also won excellence in teaching awards from both Barnard College and the University of Pennsylvania.