Academic/professional background: Dr. Bachen joined the Santa Clara faculty in 1989. She received her B.A. in Communication Studies from UCLA and a Ph.D. in Communication Theory and Research from Stanford University. Prior to Santa Clara University, she taught at the University of Pennsylvania.

Teaching areas/responsibilities: Dr. Bachen teaches a variety of media studies courses, such as Introduction to Mass Communication, Media and Youth, and Media Audience Studies. She also teaches Quantitative Research Methods and the Capstone course.

Research interests: Her primary research interests focus on the use of media by young people and families. She has published articles dealing with the role of media in establishing schema for love and romance in children, high school students' responses to the Channel One program, the families' use of media in a networked society, and girls' attitudes toward computers following interaction with a Web site designed to appeal to both traditional and nontraditional "feminine" interests. Dr. Bachen also has pursued research examining the relationship between broadcast station owner race and ethnicity and diversity in news and public affairs programming content. She is currently working on a study involving the use of media in families for cultural socialization. In addition, together with Dr. Chad Raphael, she is beginning a multiphase project analyzing the content of web sites and educational software for their representations of citizenship roles, civic engagement, and gender, followed by a study that examines the influences of this content on girls' and boys' conceptions of civic life and civic leadership.

Dr. Bachen frequently speaks to parent groups and educators within the Bay Area on the subject of media and youth.