Department of Political Science University of Missouri-Columbia College of Arts and Science

David J. Webber

David J. WebberOffice: 205 Professional Bldg.
Phone: 573-882-7931
Email: WebberD@missouri.edu
Web: web.missouri.edu/~webberd/

David J. Webber (Associate Professor) joined the Department in 1986. He received his Ph.D. in 1983 from Indiana University and specializes in American Public Policy.

Research Statement
I am interested in the determinants of education and environmental policies, primarily at the sub-national levels of federalism.

I have three manuscripts that I am revising:

  • "Prelude to Earth Day"
  • "Democracy and Education"
  • "Red States and Blue States: How well do they explain state differences?"

I have three collaborative projects. I have a co-authored (with Richard J. Hardy) a completed manuscript, "Is it President or president: Political Symbolism and the Diffusion of Grammatical Change." I’m one of four co-editors of The Encyclopedia of Issues in Public Policy (to be published by Thompson-Gale in 2009, edited by Mark Rushevsky). I’ve begun a project with Michael Pelz on A convergence of State Educational Assessment Exams and NAEP under NCLB.

My teaching interests are American Public Policy, with an emphasis on state politics, legislatures, and environmental and education policies.

Courses Taught

Senior Capstone: Does U.S. Public Policy Work? (undergrad)
Public Policy (undergraduate and graduate)
Comparative State Politics (undergrad)
Scope and Methods (graduate)
Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations (graduate)

Recent Representative Publications

Outstanding Environmentalists of Congress, 2002. Washington, DC: U.S. Capitol Historical Society.

"Mid-session Legislative Vacancies: Effects and Responses" American Review of Politics 22(2001): 433-444.