Professor Rocca received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Davis in 2004. He is a Professor of political science at the University of New Mexico and Director of the UNM Master of Public Policy Program. Professor Rocca's subfield is American politics and his primary research and teaching interests relate to American institutions and money in politics. Most of his work deals with the politics of congressional position-taking and campaign contributions, respectively. Professor Rocca's work appears in The Journal of Politics, The Forum, Politics, Groups and Identities, Political Research Quarterly, Legislative Studies Quarterly, American Politics Research, Social Sciences Quarterly, Congress and the Presidency and PS: Political Science and Politics.

Professor Rocca is an award-winning instructor who teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on American politics, public policy, the US Congress, and the American presidency. He is a two-time recipient of the College of Arts and Sciences' Teaching Excellent Award (2010, 2023) and a recipient of UNM's inaugural Digital Literacy Innovation Award in 2021.