Patrick Vargas

Get to know some of our College of Media faculty! Patrick Vargas is a professor of advertising. He currently teaches Advertising Research Methods (ADV 281), Psychology of Advertising (ADV 478), and sometimes a graduate-level research or seminar class. 

What is your research interest? 
I study attitudes and persuasion. I also have an interest in stereotyping and prejudice. Generally, in social caution. 

What are some of your hobbies? 
I like to read, and I have started working out on a rowing machine. I am weirdly competitive with myself, so I am always trying to row faster than I have the day before. My row machine has a tracker that tells me how fast I am rowing, the amount of energy I am using, and other cool statistics, which ties in with my nerdy love of numbers. Also, I enjoy playing around with my two cats.  

What is your favorite movie or TV show? 
One of my favorite movies is 2001: A Space Odyssey, the Stanley Kubrick movie. I love how it is ambiguous and most of the special effects still hold up even though it’s been more than 50 years since it was released.  

What is your favorite genre of music or favorite band? 
My favorite genre of music would be reggae music that was produced by Lee Perry roughly between 1970 and 1977. There were about seven or eight years where he was doing really amazing work and I like to listen to that! 

What advice do you have for a student graduating from the College of Media? 
I feel like there is a whole world out there and you should go out and see the rest of the world. If you want to go to Chicago after, great! But try to spend time somewhere else, like live in Australia or Belgium and experience the world. It is pretty neat! 

—Interview by Isabel Mercado, New Voices Intern