About

I am an Associate Professor of Public Affairs at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. I am a faculty fellow of the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service.

I completed my Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin in 2015. I was previously an Assistant Professor of political science at the University of Texas at Arlington from 2015-2020 and Assistant/Associate Professor at West Virginia University from 2020-2024.

My research examines American national institutions and policy processes, with an emphasis on the role of civil society in shaping public policy decision-making and outcomes. I also work in the areas of public health, disaster response, and land use policy.

My work is published in the American Journal of Public Health, Policy Studies Journal, Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy, Public AdministrationPolitical Research Quarterly, Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, Interest Groups & Advocacy, Politics & Gender, Cognitive Systems Research, PS: Political Science and Politics, and the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. 

My research on non-state actors and disaster response has been funded by two National Science Foundation RAPID grants and currently focuses on the impacts of and response to compounding extreme events (e.g. the COVID-19 pandemic and winter storm Uri in Texas). Grounded in theory about the American disaster state, we test hypotheses about capacity, accountability, and service provision. This project includes surveys/interviews of non-profits and government officials in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, California, and Louisiana. Our surveys include responses from over 600 organizations and we have completed more than 120 interviews. A new project, supported by a third NSF RAPID grant, examines state capacity, non-state actor perceptions, and election administration in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene.

My book (with Timothy LaPira), Revolving Door Lobbying, provides a comprehensive analysis of former government officials working as lobbyists in Washington. The book was published by the University Press of Kansas in 2017 and led to a series of articles on the revolving door and lobbying.

Additionally, the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, the Dirksen Congressional Center, the UT-Arlington College of Liberal Arts (C2C Program), the WVU Research Office (RSA program), and the WVU Undergraduate Research Office (SURE and RAP programs) have supported my research.

I teach courses on policy development, interest groups and advocacy, research design, agenda-setting, public policy analysis, policy implementation, and public administration. In 2022, I received the WVU Outstanding Honors EXCEL Mentor Award. At UT-Arlington, in 2019, I received the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

I am a former project manager and faculty affiliate of the US Policy Agendas Project and serve on various university and APSA committees.

Contact me at herschel.thomas@austin.utexas edu. Current students and academic advisees may schedule Zoom office hours appointments via: https://calendly.com/herschelfthomas.

View my profile on Google Scholar.