Dana Mastro is Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Personnel and Professor of Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She received her B.A. in History from UCLA, her M.A. in Communication-Urban Studies from Michigan State University, and her Ph.D. in Communication from Michigan State University. Dr. Mastro’s research is aimed at increasing our understanding of the influence of media on perceptions of self and other as well as on intergroup dynamics in society. To this end, her work (a) documents overarching patterns in the representation of distinct groups across media platforms and genres and (b) investigates the influence of exposure to these characterizations on media users' cognitions, emotions, and behaviors. In testing these relationships across digital and traditional media contexts, her research incorporates a broad range of quantitative methods (e.g., content analyses, experiments, longitudinal studies) and diverse bodies of literature including those rooted in social identity theory and self-categorization theory as well as other identity-based frameworks.
Professor Mastro is a Fellow of the International Communication Association. Her research can be found in journals such as Journal of Communication, Human Communication Research, Communication Monographs, Communication Research, Media Psychology, and the Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, as well as in books such as Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research. Her work has been funded by both private and federal granting agencies. She teaches classes in media theory; mass communication; and media & intergroup processes.
Faculty Appointments
2021-present: Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Personnel, University of California, Santa Barbara
2012-present: Professor, Department of Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara
2020-2021: Associate Dean, College of Creative Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
2015-2019: Vice-Chair, Department of Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara
2006-2012: Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Communication, University of Arizona
2003-2006: Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, University of Arizona
2000-2003: Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, Boston College
Awards & Honors
2019: University Distinguished Teaching Award. University of California, Santa Barbara
2019: Top Paper Award. International Communication Association, Mass Communication Division
2018: Fellow of the International Communication Association (ICA). Induction: Prague, Czech Republic
2018: Top Paper Award. National Communication Association, Mass Communication Division
2015: Teaching & Mentoring Award: National Communication Association, Mass Communication Division
2015: Top Paper Award. National Communication Association, Mass Communication Division
2014: Top Paper Award. International Communication Association, Mass Communication Division
2009: University Excellence in Teaching Award. College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Arizona
2005: Top Paper Award. National Communication Association, Mass Communication Division
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012. Favorite Professor, Commencement Recognition, University of Arizona.
2002: Top Paper Award. National Communication Association, Latina/o Studies Division
2001: Best Article Award. Journal of Intergroup Relations
2000: Top Paper Award. Association for Computers and the Social Sciences, Information Technology and the Impact on Everyday Life Division