Rate My Professor Jennifer Hayes Clark

Jennifer Hayes Clark is the Pauline Yelderman Endowed Chair and an associate professor of political science in the Department of Political Science at the University of Houston, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. She earned her Ph.D. in Political Science and Statistical Methods from Indiana University and her B.A. in Political Science and Mathematics from the University of Mississippi. During 2008-2009, she served as an APSA Congressional Fellow. In 2014, she received the Ross M. Lence Teaching Excellence Award from the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Houston. Her research specializes in American legislative institutions, state politics, legislatures, representation, and public policy. She examines how institutions and the political environment shape policymaking and representation. She is currently working on a book project that investigates how gender influences members of Congress's communication on social media.

Her scholarship has been published in leading journals including the American Political Science Review, Legislative Studies Quarterly, State Politics & Policy Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, and American Politics Research. Notable publications include Minority Parties in U.S. Legislatures: Conditions of Influence (University of Michigan Press, 2015), co-authored with Tanya G. Bagashka, “Electoral Rules and Legislative Particularism: Evidence from U.S. State Legislatures” (American Political Science Review, 2016), “Ideology and Polarization among Women State Legislators” with Tracy Osborn, Rebecca Kreitzer, and Emily Schilling (Legislative Studies Quarterly, 2019), “‘They Were Laughing’: Congressional Framing of the Blasey Ford Sexual Assault Allegations on Twitter” with Jamie M. Wright and Heather K. Evans (Political Research Quarterly, 2022), “The ‘PERFECT’ Call: Congressional Representation by Tweet in the Midst of the Ukraine Whistleblower Scandal” with Seth C. McKee and Heather K. Evans (American Politics Research, 2022), and “When Women Run: Explaining the Emergence of Women State Legislative Candidates” with Gathoni Kimondo (The Journal of Legislative Studies, 2024). She co-authors the textbook Governing Texas, 6th edition (W.W. Norton & Company, 2023). Additionally, she serves on the editorial board of the American Political Science Association’s Legislative Studies Section (Section 3).