Aric Putnam serves as a Senator for District 14 in the Minnesota Senate since November 2020 and has held a professor position at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University since August 2003. Aric Putnam earned a Ph.D. in Rhetorical Studies from the University of Minnesota (1999-2003), an M.A. in Communication and Media Studies from the University of Maine (1996-1998), and a B.A. in Communication Studies from San Francisco State University (1990-1994).