I am a Professor of Political Science at Bucknell University. My research focuses on American political institutions, with an emphasis on the U.S. Congress. My recent work includes the book Leadership Organizations in the House of Representatives: Party Participation and Partisan Politics (Michigan), which examines party leadership structures in the House and how they serve collective and individual member goals. I use archival and quantitative evidence to trace the ways that a polarizing and electorally competitive environment has changed the roles of participation in party organizations.
In a new book in the Cambridge Elements series, I study the House leadership’s development of electoral agendas, such as the Republicans’ “Contract with America” (1994) and the Democrats’ “New Direction for America” (2006). The Origins and Consequences of Congressional Party Election Agendas links the development of and action on these agendas, showing the representational implications of nationalized agenda efforts.
Other recent work includes a study of the House Rules Committee’s use of streamlined processes governing multiple bills to manage limited floor time and majority policy goals, and an ongoing project on how the media portrays congressional process and how those portrayals shape public perceptions.
At Bucknell, I teach a range of courses on political institutions. Along with courses on Congress, the presidency, and the courts, I teach senior seminars on political polarization and on legislative research, and I have team-taught an interdisciplinary course on mathematics and politics. In 2012, I received the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching. From 2017-2021, I served as the chair of Bucknell’s Department of Political Science.