Professor Van Dyke's research focuses on social movements and hate crime, with an emphasis on how characteristics of the social environment influence levels of collective action. Recent projects include studies of:
- AFL-CIO's Union Summer student internship program and how it inspired student anti-sweatshop protests
- How political threats inspire social movement coalitions
- Factors influencing right-wing mobilization
She is currently conducting research on:
- Factors that influence variation in the incidence of hate crimes on college campuses
- Same sex marriage as a protest tactic
- A meta-analysis of the factors that facilitate coalition formation
- Ph.D., 1999 University of Arizona
- M.A., 1994 University of Arizona
- B.A., with Distinction, 1987 University of Michigan