"Michael Hecht" is also the birth name of British politician Michael Howard

Michael Howard

Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...

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Michael L. Hecht is a researcher in the field of human communication

Communication

Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...

, emphasising the areas of interpersonal and inter-ethnic relationships, identity, and adolescent drug resistance. In 1973, Hecht earned his M.A. from Queens College, City University of New York

Queens College, City University of New York

Queens College, located in Flushing, Queens, New York City, is one of the senior colleges of the City University of New York. It is also the fifth oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning. The college's seventy seven acre campus is located in the heart of the...

 and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. He is now Liberal Arts Research Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences and Crime, Law, and Justice in the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences at Penn State University. He has previously been full professor at Arizona State University

Arizona State University

Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...

 .

Research

His research areas include identity, prejudice, ethnicity, communication satisfaction, adolescent drug resistance, and romantic love. The National Institute on Drug Abuse

National Institute on Drug Abuse

The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a United States federal-government research institute whose mission is to "lead the Nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction."-History:...

 awarded Hecht a series of major grants on the social process of adolescent drug offers. With these, a multicultural drug prevention program was formed for seventh graders called, keepin’ it REAL. Keepin’ it REAL went on to be selected as a “model program” by the National Registry of Effective Programs for its ability to influence adolescent drug use.

Experience

Hecht has conducted training and research for companies such as Xerox, ARCO, GTE, Jackson National Life Insurance, and U-Haul. He has also conducted evaluation research for federally funded drug abuse and crime prevention and treatment programs and for mental health agencies and served on school district advisory boards, as well as on a citizens advisory board for a hospital.

Achievements

He has earned numerous awards starting with Access Producers Achievement Award, Dickenson Cablesystems, for "Kids Broadcasting System News," in 1982, and his most recent being the National Communication Association’s African American Communication & Culture Division's 2003 Distinguished Scholarship Award. Hecht is currently teaching numerous courses in the Communications, Arts and Sciences, and continuing his work with Keepin’ it REAL.

He has been on the editorial board of several journals in his subject.

Books

• Baldwin, J.R., Faulkner, S.L., Hecht, M.L. & Lindsley, S.L. (Eds.) (2006). Redefining Culture: Perspectives across the disciplines. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
• Hecht, M.L., Jackson, R.L., & Ribeau, S. (2003). African American Communication: Exploring Identity and Culture (2nd edition). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associate, Inc.
• Hecht, M.L., Collier, M.J., & , & Ribeau, S. (1993). African American communication: Ethnic identity and cultural interpretations. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
• Miller, M.A., Alberts, J.K., Hecht, M.L., Krizek, R.L., & Trost, M. (2000). Adolescent relationships and drug abuse. NY: Erlbaum Publications.
• Guerrero, L, DeVito, J.A. & Hecht, M.L. (Eds.) (1999). The nonverbal communication reader: classical and contemporary perspectives (2nd ed.). Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland.
• DeVito, J.A. & Hecht, M.L. (Eds.) (1990). The nonverbal communication reader. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland.
• Hecht, M.L. (Ed.)(1998). Communicating prejudice. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
• Petronio, S., Alberts, J.K., Hecht, M.L., & Buley, J.L. (Eds.) (1993). Contemporary perspectives on interpersonal communication. Dubuque, Iowa: W.C. Brown, Inc.

Others

He has published over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles, and a number of book chapters and , presentations.

External links

• Drug Resistance Strategies Project website
  Drug Resistance Strategies Project
  The Drug Resistance Strategies Project , a program funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse , teaches adolescents and pre-adolescents how to make decisions and resist alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs ....
  
  
• Official CV at PSU