YALE UNIVERSITY, New Haven, Connecticut
Ph.D., May 1996 (Political Science)
M.Phil., November 1992
M.A., May 1992

Dissertation: "Rethinking Environmentalism: Ecology, Public Opinion, and Mass Political Behavior" (Donald P. Green and John P. Wargo, advisors)

Ph.D. Examination Fields:

• American Politics
• Empirical Analysis and Research Methodology, with distinction
• Public Policy, with distinction

SMITH COLLEGE, Northampton, Massachusetts
A.B., May 1990, magna cum laude (Government and Economics)
 

THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT, Burlington, Vermont
Associate Professor (with tenure), Department of Political Science, 2004-present
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, 1998-2004

Introductory classes: The American Political System (including a version taught fully online)

100-level classes:  U.S. Elections and Political Parties

200-level seminars:  Topics in Public Opinion; Public Opinion and Voting Behavior; Environmentalism and Its Critics

BOWDOIN COLLEGE, Brunswick, Maine
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Government & Legal Studies, 1996-1998

YALE UNIVERSITY, New Haven, Connecticut
Teaching Fellow, 1992-1996
 

Public opinion, political behavior, elections, research methodology, and environmental politics.

 

Books

The Grassroots of a Green Revolution: Polling America on the Environment. 2003. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.  279 pages.

Since the first Earth Day in 1970, environmentalism has become woven into the fabric of American life.  Concern for environmental quality has spawned extraordinary changes in how we think, work, and recreate, in what we buy, and how we govern.  But popular consensus on the environment is more complicated than it appears.  The real question is no longer whether Americans side with environmentalism, but rather what kind of commitment they bring to the table.  This book argues that understanding public opinion—the grassroots of the “green” revolution—is essential to sustaining genuine environmental progress.  The long-term success of the environmental movement will be measured not only by its legislative achievements, but by its ability to persuade average Americans to back up their words with action, and to further alter their voting patterns, buying habits, and lifestyles.

The Grassroots of a Green Revolution uses polling data from a wide variety of sources to explore the myths, inconsistencies and tensions that characterize public thinking on environmental issues.  The book defines and describes key characteristics of public opinion—including direction, strength, stability, distribution, and consistency—and traces the way in which those qualities influence the behavior of citizens and consumers alike.  In the end, that body of evidence is used to weigh the significance of environmental concern within the arena of U.S. politics and policy, and to provide pragmatic advice for decisionmakers in their efforts to motivate Americans to act in an environmentally-responsible way.

Externally reviewed in the following journals:  Perspectives on Politics, Political Science Quarterly, Journal of Environment and Development, Society and Natural Resources, Rural Sociology, Environmental Politics, and Quarterly Review of Biology.

Refereed Journal Articles

"Environmental Voting in the American States: A Tale of Two Initiatives." 2001. State and Local Government Review, 33 (2): 120-132.

"Voting Preferences and the Environment in the American Electorate." 2001. Society and Natural Resources, 14 (6): 455-469.

"Getting What You Pay For:  The Debate Over Equity in Public School Expenditures."  1999.  Journal of Statistics Education, 7 (2) [online].

"Environmental Concern and the Dimensionality Problem: A New Approach to an Old Predicament." 1996. Social Science Quarterly, 77 (3): 644-662.

Articles in Edited Volumes

With co-author Christopher J. Bosso, “Framing ANWR:  Citizens, Consumers, and the Privileged Position of Business.”  2007.  In Business and Environmental Policy. Michael E. Kraft and Sheldon Kamieniecki, editors.  Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press: 35-60.

With co-author Christopher J. Bosso, “Maintaining Presence: Environmental Advocacy and the Permanent Campaign.”   2005.  In Environmental Policy: New Directions for the Twenty-First Century, 6th edition.  Norman J. Vig, and Michael E. Kraft, eds.  Washington, DC:  CQ Press: 78-99.

With co-author Christopher J. Bosso, "The Boundaries and Contours of American Environmental Activism." 2002. In, Environmental Policy: New Directions for the Twenty-First Century, 5th edition. Norman J. Vig, and Michael E. Kraft, editors. Washington, DC: CQ Press: 79-101.

Working Papers

"Economic Voting in U.S. Elections:  An Annotated Bibliography." 1995. Institution for Social and Policy Studies Working Paper, 95-01. New Haven, CT: Yale University.
 

With co-author Christopher J. Bosso, "Framing ANWR: Citizens, Consumers, and the Privileged Position of Business," Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington, DC, September 1-4, 2005.

"Make of them Grand Parks, Owned in Common":   Public Opinion and the Democratic Ideal in the Adirondacks, 1864-1894," Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 28-31, 2003.

"Up and Down With Ecology Revisited: The Stability of Public Attitudes Toward Environmental Spending, 1973-1998," 33^rd Annual Conference of the Northeastern Political Science Association, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 8-10, 2001.

"Issue Voting and the Environment in the American Electorate," 31st Annual Conference of the Northeastern Political Science Association, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 10-13, 1999.

"Motivating the Citizen-Consumer: Environmental Values in the Voting Booth and the Marketplace," Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Atlanta, Georgia, September 2-5, 1999.

"Greenbacks or ‘Green’ Ballots? Environmental Voting on Statewide Ballot Propositions, 1964-1993," New England Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Springfield, Massachusetts, May 3-4, 1996.

"The Environment’s Bottom Line: Evaluating ‘Green’ Voting Behavior in U.S. Elections," New England Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Portland, Maine, May 5-6, 1995.

"Measuring Environmentalism: Survey Research and the Dimensionality Problem," 49th Annual Conference of the New York State Political Science Association, New York, New York, April 28-29, 1995.
 

Workshop Participant (by invitation), Communicating Urgency, Facilitating Social Change: New Strategies for Climate Change, sponsored by the National Centerfor Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, June 8-11, 2004.

Grant Proposal Referee, Decision, Risk and Management Sciences Program, National Science Foundation.

Manuscript Referee, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Political Research Quarterly, Social Science Quarterly, Social Forces, Society and Natural Resources.

Discussant, “Issues and Character in Elections,” 35^th Annual Conference of the Northeastern Political Science Association, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 6-8, 2003.

Chair, "Presidential Elections," New England Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Portland, Maine, May 3-4, 2002.

Chair and Discussant, "Issues in Legislative Politics," 33rd Annual Conference of the Northeastern Political Science Association, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 8-10, 2001.

Chair, "Public Opinion, Third Parties, and Political Speech," New England Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, May 4-5, 2001.

Discussant, "New Perspectives on Voter Turnout," New England Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, May 4-5, 2001.

Discussant, "Partisan Leadership and Scandal in the House of Representatives," New England Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Providence, Rhode Island, April 29-May 1, 1999.

Chair and Discussant, "Perspectives on Congressional Elections," New England Political Science Association Annual Meeting, New London, Connecticut, May 2-3, 1997.
 

Recipient, Robert C. Wood prize for best paper, New England Political Science Association Annual Meeting, New London, Connecticut, May 2-3, 1997.

Recipient, Samuel Bowles prize, Smith College, 1990, for the best thesis on an economics subject.

• Thesis topic:  "Job Displacement and Labor Market Readjustment:   An Analysis of the Cann & Saul Steel Company."

Co-recipient, Sidney S. Cohen prize, Smith College, 1990, for outstanding work in the field of economics.

Recipient, Smith College Alumnae Association scholarship for graduate study, 1990.

Elected member, Phi Beta Kappa, Smith College, 1989.

Participant, Jean Picker Semester-in-Washington Program, 1988.

• Thesis topic:  "Democracy and Foreign Policy:  Power, the President, and Public Opinion."

• Internship: Office of Congressman William H. Gray, III (D-PA), Washington, DC.