Paul Beck is a distinguished professor of social and behavioral science and political science at OSU. He also has courtesy professorship of communications and sociology.

Beck has been at Ohio State for 23 years. He originally was the department chair of the Political Science Department for 13 years, then became the dean of the college of social behavioral science.

He grew up in Logansport, Indiana and went to undergraduate school in his hometown. He continued his education with graduate schooling in Michigan.

Before he came to Ohio State, Beck taught at the University of Pittsburgh for nine years. In 1979 he became the department chair of political science at Florida State University for 13 years.

He originally planned on going to law school and becoming an attorney, but had a change of heart in college.

“I went to school during the ‘60s which was a highly politicized time,” Beck said. “I got derailed along the way because I really liked political science so I became an academic instead of a lawyer.”

Beck also has been recognized for his academic research in political science. He is most known for conducting research on how children first learn about politics. Now he is researching different countries and is studying how citizens learn about political information during election campaigns.

His articles have appeared in several journals including the “Political Science Review” and the “American Journal of Political Science.” He co-wrote several books on political science including “Party Politics in America” and “Electoral Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies.” He also hopes to write a book that details the political history of America, he said.

Beck describes his teaching style as lectures that involve student interaction. He encourages class discussion to promote student engagement, he said.

“I am very open and a lot of times get a lot of very spirited discussion on certain topics,” Beck said. “A lot of my classes have students that are experienced in politics, so I can draw from their ideas.”

In addition to student discussions, Beck also uses a lot of data in his classes to help students learn, he said.

“I like to teach students how to think analytically,” Beck said. “I want students to make use of this information to draw conclusions about the political world around them.”
Beck enjoys interacting with students and helping them to become as successful as he is, he said.

“My advice to them is to work hard and don’t cut corners,” Beck said. “Always do your best at everything you do.”