WAA Press Release Banner

Seniors’ Role in Online Politics Focus of Sarasota Alumni Event

Feb. 11, 2008

Contact: Kate Dixon, Wisconsin Alumni Association, (608) 265-8769, news@uwalumni.com

MADISON, Wis. — University of Wisconsin-Madison alumni in the Sarasota, Fla., area will celebrate the founding of the university with a talk from an expert on public opinion on Thursday, Feb. 21.

Dhavan Shah, professor of journalism and mass communication and political science at UW-Madison, will present his lecture, “The Shaping of Public Opinion: Online Political Forums and the Involvement of Senior Communities” at the Wisconsin Alumni Association: Sarasota/Manatee Chapter Founders’ Day event.

The Founders’ Day event will start at 6:30 p.m. at the Bird Key Yacht Club, 301 Bird Key Drive, 700 John Ringling Boulevard in Sarasota. News media are welcome to attend. For more details, visit uwalumni.com/sarasota.

Shah received his doctorate in mass communication from the University of Minnesota, where he also minored in political psychology. He was awarded an endowed professorship in 2006. His teaching at UW-Madison focuses on political and strategic communication, and his research concerns the social psychology of media influence.

Founders’ Day 2008 is presented in cities nationwide by the Wisconsin Alumni Association, a nonprofit organization, in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin Foundation.
These events are hosted annually by UW-Madison alumni chapters to bring the latest in University of Wisconsin research to alumni in their hometowns, raise funds for student scholarships and celebrate the founding of the university. Proceeds from the Wisconsin Alumni Association: Sarasota/Manatee Chapter Founders’ Day event will benefit the chapter’s local scholarship fund.

Participation and membership in the Wisconsin Alumni Association and its chapters are open to all alumni, students and friends of UW-Madison.

Founded in 1861, WAA offers UW alumni and friends a wide variety of services, including the award-winning On Wisconsin Magazine, Badger Insider Magazine, career services, international travel opportunities and lifelong learning events. Learn more at uwalumni.com.