Mr. Rob Mellen has been appointed as an Instuctor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration beginning in January 2009, where he will teach both undergraduate and graduate classes. In the coming years, we anticipate that he will teach undergraduate classes in the Chief Executive, the Legislative Process, and Political Analysis, and the graduate seminar on American Political Institutions.
Mr. Mellen's research interests include the presidency, Congress, and inter-branch relations. He has studied the interaction between presidents and members of Congress, both on and off the campaign trail. He has also researched normative theoretical explanations of presidential and congressional behavior. Mr. Mellen has written on presidential campaigning during midterm congressional elections, on media coverage of midterm Senate races, and on budgeting in the state of Washington. He is currently writing about the effect of presidential campaign appearances on voter turnout in midterm congressional elections. He has published in The Harvard Journal of Press/Politics.
Mr. Mellen received his BA in Political Science/International Relations from the University of California, Los Angeles. He earned his MA from Washington State University and expects to receive his PhD from Washington State University late in 2009.
Click here for a copy of Mr. Mellen's vita.
Office: 192 Bowen
His e-mail is rm665@msstate.edu