Robert J. McGrath

Contact Information

George Mason University
Schar School of Policy and Government
Tel: (703) 993-4567
Fax: (703) 993-1399
4400 University Dr., MSN 3F4
Fairfax, Virginia 22030
rmcgrat2@gmu.edu

Professional Appointments

George Mason University – Fairfax, Virginia

Director of Political Science and Public Policy PhD Programs, Schar School
2025 - present

Associate Professor, Schar School
2017 - present

Director of Undergraduate Programs, Schar School 
2018 - 2021

Assistant Professor, Schar School
2014 - 2017

Assistant Professor, Department of Public and International Affairs
2011 - 2014

University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, Michigan

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholar in Health Policy Research
2013 - 2015

Education

Ph.D., Political Science, The University of Iowa, July 2011
Dissertation: Strategic Oversight and the Institutional Determinants of Legislative Policy Control
Committee: Frederick J. Boehmke (Chair), Douglas Dion, Christian B. Jensen, Raymond G. Riezman, and Charles R. Shipan (University of Michigan)

B.A., Political Science & Philosophy, Saint Peter’s College, 2004

Articles

Robert J. McGrath. Nd (Forthcoming). “American Federalism and Health Policy Spillovers: Insights from the Opioid Crisis” Publius: The Journal of Federalism

Robert J. McGrath, Josh M. Ryan, and Jatia Wrighten. Nd (Forthcoming). “High Hurdles: Legislative Professionalism and the Effectiveness of Women State Legislators” The Journal of Politics

Wendy Chen, William W. Franko, and Robert J. McGrath. Nd (Forthcoming). “Occupational Licensing and Income Inequality in the States” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management

Molly A. Andolina, Jeremy D. Mayer, and Robert J. McGrath. 2024. “Listen to Me: Quality of Communication and Intergenerational Political Socialization” Political Research Quarterly 77(2): 451-468.

Graeme Boushey and Robert J. McGrath. 2023. “Rulemaking Speed in the U.S. States” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 34(2): 284-300.

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Note: Author order alphabetical and equal authorship on publications and papers, unless otherwise noted

 

Graeme Boushey and Robert J. McGrath. 2020. “Does Partisan Conflict Lead to Increased Bureaucratic Policymaking? Evidence from the American States” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 30(3): 432-447.

Robert J. McGrath and Josh M. Ryan. 2019. “Party Effects in State Legislative Committees” Legislative Studies Quarterly 44(4): 553-592.

Jason A. MacDonald and Robert J. McGrath. 2019. “A Race for the Regs: Unified Government, Statutory Deadlines, and Federal Agency Rulemaking” Legislative Studies Quarterly 44(2): 345-381.

Robert J. McGrath, Jon C. Rogowski, and Josh M. Ryan. 2018. “Veto Override Requirements and Executive Success.” Political Science Research and Methods 6(1): 153-179.

Denise F. Lillvis and Robert J. McGrath. 2017. “Directing Discipline: State Medical Board Responsiveness to State Legislatures." Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law 42(1): 123-165.

Graeme Boushey and Robert J. McGrath. 2017. “Experts, Amateurs, and Bureaucratic Influence in the American States.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 27(1): 85-103.

• Winner of the 2015 State Politics and Policy Quarterly Award for best paper on state poli- tics and policy presented at any professional meeting.

Jason A. MacDonald and Robert J. McGrath. 2016. “Retrospective Congressional Oversight and the Dynamics of Legislative Influence over the Bureaucracy.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 41(4): 899-934.

Robert J. McGrath and James A. Rydberg. 2016. “The Marginality Hypothesis and Supreme Court Confirmation Votes in the Senate.” Congress & the Presidency 43(3): 324-351.

John D. Marvel and Robert J. McGrath. 2016. “Congress as Manager: Oversight Hearings and Agency Morale.” Journal of Public Policy. 36(3): 489-520.

Jeeyang Rhee Baum, Christian B. Jensen, and Robert J. McGrath. 2016. “Constraining a Shadowy Future: Enacting APAs in Parliamentary Systems.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 41(2): 471-499.

Robert J. McGrath, Jon C. Rogowski, and Josh M. Ryan. 2015. “Gubernatorial Veto Powers and the Size of Legislative Coalitions.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 40(4): 571-598.

Robert J. McGrath. 2013. “Legislatures, Courts, and Statutory Control of the Bureaucracy across the U.S. States.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly 13(3): 373-397.

Robert J. McGrath. 2013. “Congressional Oversight Hearings and Policy Control.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 38(3): 353-380.

Robert J. McGrath. 2013. “The Rise and Fall of Radical Civil Service Reform in the U.S. States.” Public Administration Review 73(4): 638-649.

Christian B. Jensen and Robert J. McGrath. 2011. “Making Rules About Rulemaking: A Comparison of Presidential and Parliamentary Systems.” Political Research Quarterly 64(3): 656-667.

Robert J. McGrath. 2011. “Electoral Competition and the Frequency of Initiative Use in the U.S. States.” American Politics Research 39(3): 611-638.

Book Chapter

Robert J. McGrath, Jon C. Rogowski, and Josh M. Ryan. 2015. “The Power of Institutional Design: Governors, Vetoes, and Legislative Outcomes.” In The American Governor: Power, Constraint, and Leadership in the States, ed. David P. Redlawsk. New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan.

Book Reviews

Review of Steven Rogers’s, Accountability in State Legislatures (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2023), for Publius: The Journal of Federalism, Nd (Forthcoming)

Review of Ben Merriman’s, Conservative Innovators: How States Are Challenging Federal Power (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2019), for Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Volume 30, No. 2 (April 2020).

Review of James M. Curry’s, Legislating in the Dark: Information and Power in the House of Representatives (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2015), for The Journal of Politics, Volume 78, No. 2 (April 2016).

Research Awards

State Politics and Policy Quarterly Award (State Politics and Policy Section of the American Political Science Association) for best paper on state politics and policy presented at any professional meeting for “Experts, Amateurs, and Bureaucratic Influence in the American States,” with Graeme Boushey, 2015.

Teaching Awards

Outstanding Teaching Award, Schar School of Policy and Government, 2023 

OSCAR Mentoring Excellence Award, George Mason University, 2022

Grants & Fellowships

Collaborative Research: Resource Implementations for Data Intensive Research in the Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences (RIDIR), National Science Foundation, “DAPPR: Diffu- sion Analytics for Public Policy Research,” with Frederick J. Boehmke, Bruce A. Desmarais, William W. Franko, Jeffrey J. Harden, Yu-Ru Lin, and Jason Windett, October 1, 2016 - Septem- ber 30, 2019 [Total funding awarded: $808,128]

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholars in Health Policy Research Fellowship (University of Michigan site), 2013-2015

“The American Governor: Politics, Policy, Power and Leadership" Research Grant, Center on the American Governor—Eagleton Institute of Politics (Rutgers University), with Jon C. Rogowski and Josh M. Ryan, 2012 [$4,980 awarded]

Graduate College Summer Fellowship, University of Iowa, 2009

National Science Foundation award to attend Empirical Implications of Theoretical Models (EITM) summer institute, University of Michigan, 2009.

National Science Foundation award to attend Empirical Implications of Theoretical Models (EITM) summer institute, Washington University in St. Louis, 2008.

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Summer Fellowship for intensive course in Yu- catec Maya, The Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of North Carolina-Duke University, 2005.

Political Science Graduate Fellowship, University of Iowa, 2004–2010.

Working Papers/Works in Progress

“Shared Pain, Common Purpose: How Shared Problem Status Drives Congressional Collab- oration on Opioid Legislation — working paper

“The Value of State Legislative Committees,” with Josh M. Ryan — working paper

“Who Benefits from Congressional Oversight of the Bureaucracy?,” with Jason A. MacDonald and Nicole Kalaf-Hughes — work in progress

Collaboration in Crisis: State Politics, Policy Coordination, and the Opioid Epidemic, book manuscript in progress.

Conference/ Seminar Participation

• “American Institutions and Democracy” conference, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA (2025)
• “Center for Effective Lawmaking State Legislative Effectiveness” conference, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN (2025)
• Southern Political Science Association, San Juan, PR (2025); San Juan, PR (2020); Orlando, FL (2013)
• American Political Science Association, Philadelphia, PA (2024); Washington, DC (2019); Philadelphia, PA (2016); San Francisco, CA (2015); Washington, DC (2014); Chicago, IL (2013); Washington, DC (2010); Boston, MA (2008)
• State Politics and Policy Conference, Charlottesville, VA (2024); College Park, MD (2019); State College, PA (2018); St. Louis, MO (2017); Iowa City, IA (2013); Houston, TX (2012); Springfield, IL (2010)
• “Empirical Study of State Politics & Policymaking” conference, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (2023)
• Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL (2019 – Served as Section Chair for Bu- reaucratic Politics); (2016); (2015); (2014); (2013); (2012); (2011); (2010); (2009); (2008); (2007)
• “New Developments in the Study of Executive Politics” conference, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN (2018)
• Introduction to R Programming for Statistical Inference (10-day course), Georgian Institute for Public Affairs, Tbilisi, Georgia. Invited instructor on US State Department Grant (PIs: Priscilla Regan and Eric McGlinchey), July 25 - August 6, 2016; July 23 - August 4, 2017
• Western Political Science Association, Vancouver, BC (2017); Portland, OR (2012)
• American Political Science Association, Philadelphia, PA (2016); San Francisco, CA (2015); Washington, DC (2014); Chicago, IL (2013); Washington, DC (2010); Boston, MA (2008)
• University of Virginia, American Politics Seminar, Charlottesville,VA (2016)
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholars in Health Policy Research Annual Meeting, Coronado, CA (2015); Indianapolis, IN (2014); Princeton, NJ (2013)
• Southern California Law and Social Science Forum, “Regulation, Law and Social Science,” University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (2015)
• “Lawmaking and Oversight in an Era of Polarization” symposium, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV (2014)
• “New Frontiers in Policy Diffusion” conference, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA (2014)
• Rutgers University, Eagleton Institute of Politics, New Brunswick, NJ (2013); (2012)

Additional Training

Empirical Implications of Theoretical Models (EITM) Summer Institute

• University of Michigan, June-July 2009
• Washington University in St. Louis, June 2008

The University of Iowa College of Law

• Course in Administrative Law, Fall 2007

Courses Taught

Graduate

• Research Design for Social Science and Public Policy: Fall 2025; Fall 2024
• PhD Professional Development Seminar: Fall 2025
• Seminar in Congress and Legislative Behavior: Spring 2025; Fall 2021; Fall 2016
• Seminar in Politics, Policy and Government Institutions: Spring 2024; Spring 2023; Fall 2022
• Multivariate Statistical Analysis in Public Policy: Spring 2022; Spring 2016
• Management and Workflow for Empirical Analysis: Spring 2021
• Maximum Likelihood Estimation, with Applications in the Social Sciences: Spring 2021
• U.S. Policy-Making Processes: Fall 2020, Fall 2018, Fall 2017
• Seminar in American Government and Politics: Fall 2016, Spring 2016, Fall 2015
• Seminar in the Presidency: Fall 2015, Fall 2012
• Seminar in Politics and Bureaucracy: Spring 2012
• Seminar in Theories of Public Administration: Fall 2011

Undergraduate

• Introduction to American Government: Summer ;2025; Spring 2025; Fall 2024; Summer 2024; Spring 2023; Summer 2023; Summer 2022; Summer 2021, Summer 2020, Fall 2019, Summer 2017; Spring 2017, 2016
• Research Methods and Analysis: Fall 2022; Spring 2022; Fall 2021; Spring 2019
• Legislative Behavior: Fall 2020, Fall 2018, Fall 2017; Spring 2012, Summer 2011
• Political Parties and Campaigns: Summer 2016
• The American Presidency: Summer 2013, Fall 2012, Fall 2011

Internship Coordination

• Summer 2012

Students Supervised

Dissertation Committees:

• Tia Wrighten, Ph.D (Political Science, 2020), George Mason University, Chair (current position: Assistant Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University)
• Scott Atherley, Ph.D (Political Science, 2019), George Mason University, Chair (current position: private sector)
• Adam Bernbaum, Ph.D Student (Political Science, 2022), George Mason University, Chair (current position: Representative, 24th District, Washington State House of Rep- resentatives )
• Tim Bynion, Ph.D Student (Political Science, ABD), George Mason University, Chair (current position: APSA Congressional Fellow)
• Phil Pedlikin, Ph.D Candidate (Public Policy, 2021), George Mason University, Commit- tee Member (current position: nonacademic)
• Jihye Lim, Ph.D (Political Science, 2020), George Mason University, Committee Member (current position: Assistant Professor, George Mason University - Mason Korea)
• Ashley Hess, Ph.D (Biodefense, 2019), George Mason University, Committee Member (current position: nonacademic)
• Kirk Heffelmire, Ph.D (Public Policy, 2018), George Mason University, Committee Mem- ber (current position: nonacademic)
• Brian Alexander, Ph.D (Political Science, 2015), George Mason University, Committee Member (current position: Associate Professor, Washington and Lee University)
• Mike Condray, Ph.D Candidate (Public Policy, ABD), George Mason University, Com- mittee Member
• Neslihan McCorkel, Ph.D Candidate (Public Policy, ABD), George Mason University, Committee Member

Undergraduate Honors Theses:

• Ryan Flake, BA (2021), George Mason University, Thesis Supervisor
• Renata Thornton, BA (2019), George Mason University, Thesis Supervisor
• Amanda Patarino, BA (2016), George Mason University, Thesis Supervisor

Service

George Mason University, Schar School of Policy and Government:

• 2025-Present – Director of PhD Programs in Political Science and Public Policy (Schar)
• 2023-Present – Member, Second-Level School RPT Committee (Schar)
• 2025 – Member, Political Science PhD Admissions Committee (Schar)
• 2023 – Member, RPT Taskforce (Schar)
• 2018 to 2021 – Director of Undergraduate Programs (Schar)
• 2018 to 2021 – Coordinator of Undergraduate Research Assistants Program (Schar)
• 2018 to 2021 – Member, Undergraduate Council (University)
• 2019 – Member, Public Policy PhD Admissions Committee (Schar)
• 2018 – Member, Public Policy PhD Admissions Committee (Schar)
• 2018 – Member, Promotion and Tenure Liaison Committee (Schar)
• 2017 – Member, Political Methodology Search Committee (Schar)
• 2016 – Member, Public Policy PhD Admissions Committee (Schar)
• 2015-2016 – Coordinator, Workshop for Research in Political Science (Schar)
• 2015-2017 – Member, Curriculum Committee (Schar)
• 2015-2016 – Member, American Politics Qualifying Exam Committee (Schar) 

George Mason University, Department of Public and International Affairs:

• 2012-2013 – Member, Public Administration Faculty Search Committee
• 2012-2013 – Member, American Politics Qualifying Exam Committee
• 2012 – Summer Internship Coordinator
• 2011-2012 – Member, Graduate Admissions Committee
• 2011-2012 – Member, Graduate Curriculum Committee

Manuscript Review — Occasional reviewer for the following journals and publishers:

The American Journal of Political Science, American Politics Research, American Political Science Review, Canadian Journal of Political Science, The Journal of Politics, Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, Policy Studies Journal, Public Administration Review, Publius, State Politics and Policy Quarterly, and for Oxford University Press, W.W. Norton & Company