Todd L. Belt

Todd L. Belt is Professor and Director of the Political Management Program in the Graduate School of Political Management at The George Washington University. His research and writing focus on the presidency, mass media, public opinion, campaigns and elections. Dr. Belt is the co-author of four books: The Post-Heroic Presidency: Leveraged Leadership in an Age of Limits (Praeger, 2nd ed.), The Presidency and Domestic Policy: Comparing Leadership Styles, FDR to Obama (Paradigm, 2nd ed.), We Interrupt This Newscast: How to Improve Local News and Win Ratings, Too (Cambridge University Press), and Getting Involved: A Guide to Student Citizenship (Longman). He has published over a dozen chapters in edited scholarly books, and over two dozen articles appearing in academic journals such as Political Communication, the International Journal of Press/Politics, the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, the California Journal of Politics & Policy, Political Linguistics, the Journal of Social Research & Policy, the Presidents and Executive Politics Report, the Columbia Journalism Review, and Campaigns & Elections. Dr. Belt received his B.A. at the University of California, Irvine, majoring in Economics and Political Science. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Southern California, and studied at the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research at the University of Michigan as part of his graduate work. Dr. Belt has worked as a research consultant for political campaigns, interest groups, think tanks, and media corporations. Professor Belt has held the John W. Kluge Fellowship in Digital Studies at the Library of Congress, as well as visiting positions at Wellesley College, and Kyungpook University in Daegu, South Korea. Additionally, Dr. Belt has taught at California State University Northridge, California State University Long Beach, the University of California Los Angeles, the University of Southern California, and Whittier College. He is a frequent contributor to media reporting on politics and is the recipient of two teaching awards.