Rate My Professor Aaron Veenstra

Florida Atlantic University

Communications Political Science Psychology Social Science Journalism Media and Communication Studies Political Communication Media Psychology

5.0

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5.04/23/2026

Passionate about student development.

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About Aaron

Aaron Veenstra is an Associate Professor in Multimedia Journalism within the Communications faculty at Florida Atlantic University's School of Communication and Multimedia Studies. He holds a Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before joining FAU in the Fall of 2019, Dr. Veenstra taught for ten years at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, serving as Acting Associate Dean for the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts from January 2017 to June 2019. Bringing a professional background in web development, his research draws from the social psychological tradition in mass communication. He focuses on how political and other social identities shape the ways individuals seek out and interpret news information, particularly in the digital environment where information has become more abundant and accessible. His expertise encompasses political communication, media effects, online communities, social identity, and cognitive bias. Dr. Veenstra employs quantitative methods to analyze how social and political identities impact media and political campaign outcomes, with studies addressing topics such as fracking, the anti-vaxx movement, and electoral politics.