Research

My research has examined national and state public policy, political institutions, interest groups, and political behavior. My main research focus has been on the role of “outsider” groups within political institutions and the policy process. Substantive policy areas of interest include abortion, crime policy, gay related policy, gun policy, environmental policy, and hate crime. My published research has appeared or will appear in a wide range of refereed journals, including The Journal of Politics (1996, 1997, 2000, 2001), Political Research Quarterly (1997, 1998, 1999, 2002), State Politics and Policy Quarterly (2001, 2002, 2004), American Politics Research (2000), Policy Studies Journal (1999, 2001), Review of Policy Research (2003), Justice Research and Policy (2001), Demography (1996), the American Review of Politics (1999, 2001), Urban Affairs Review (2004), and Social Science Quarterly (1998, 2002, 2002, 2003).

I have also made several contributions to edited books. These include The Encyclopedia of American Social Movements (2003), The Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy (2003), Governing America: The Politics of a Divided Democracy (2003), The Encyclopedia of the Midwest (2003), The Public Clash of Private Values: The Politics of Morality Policy (2001), Queer Families, Queer Politics: Challenging Culture and the State (2001), The Politics of Gay Rights (2000), Reader's Guide to Lesbian and Gay Studies (2000), Gays and Lesbians in The Democratic Process: Public Policy, Public Opinion and Political Representation (1999), Culture Wars and Local Politics (1999), and the Encyclopedia of AIDS: A Social, Political, Cultural, and Scientific Record of the Epidemic (1998). Ray Smith and myself also completed a book titled Gay and Lesbian Americans and Political Participation, which was published in 2002. In addition I have presented my work at numerous professional conferences, including the American Political Science Association, Midwest Political Science Association, Western Political Science Association, Wisconsin Political Science Association, and Southwestern Political Science Association.

Rather than research only one type of policy or make use of one theoretical perspective, my research has focused on several types of public policy in a variety of institutional contexts, and uses of a range of mainstream theoretical perspectives and methodological techniques. For example, my research on hate crime policy examines policy adoption and implementation at all levels of government, makes use of policy adoption and analysis theories, and makes use of rigorous quantitative methods supplemented by qualitative case study methods.

Over the next few years I will be concluding my work on an American Psychological Foundation grant to examine the implementation and enforcement of hate crime laws. I will also be completing of research grants on facility compliance with environmental regulations and racial profiling of local law enforcement agencies.

Teaching

I have taught a wide variety of graduate and undergraduate courses, including public policy, American politics and institutions, the presidency, comparative state politics, race and ethnicity in American politics, and quantitative methods. At the University of Kansas my undergraduate courses have included POLS 517 The Presidency, POLS 613 Comparative U.S. State Politics, POLS 620 Formulation of Public Policy, POLS 624 Environmental Politics and Policy, POLS 625 Extremist Groups and Government Response, and POLS 634 Bureaucratic Politics. My graduate courses have included POLS 720 Scope of Public Policy and POLS 820 Policy Formulation and Adoption. I have also engaged students in directed readings on the presidency and policy implementation. In the future I will be increasing the number and diversity of course offerings in public policy as I develop courses on crime policy, policy implementation and enforcement, and policy analysis.

Service

Although my service to my department, the University, my profession, and the community is just beginning, I have engaged in a variety of service activities. During graduate school I served on the Scholastic Appeals Committee and was an elected Graduate Student Representative. In my department at KU I have served on the Graduate Studies Committee as well as three preliminary examination committees. For the University I regularly engage in public relations interviews on a variety of policy issues for newspapers and Lawrence and Kansas City television and radio stations.

For several years I have served as a reviewer for the top journals in my field, including the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, The Journal of Politics, Political Research Quarterly, State Politics and Policy Quarterly, American Politics Research, Policy Studies Journal, and Social Science Quarterly, among others. From time to time I also review book manuscripts for Congressional Quarterly, F. E. Peacock Publishers, Inc., and Harper Collins Publishers. I have also been invited to review books for journals including the American Political Science Review.

In Spring 2000 I served as Section Head for the Political Parties and Interest Groups sections at the annual meetings of the Midwest Political Science Association and the Southwest Social Science Association (also 2003). Finally, I also have a number of professional affiliations, including the American Political Science Association, Midwest Political Science Association, Southern Political Science Association, Southwestern Political/Social Science Association, and Western Political Science Association.