Alan Wiseman

Vanderbilt’s Alan Wiseman co-directs the Center for Effective Lawmaking with University of Virginia professor Craig Volden. Using a combination of 15 metrics, the center defines legislators that “exceed expectations” as those who outperform the center’s benchmark Legislative Effectiveness Scores by 50 percent or more, and high-performers are across the political spectrum. Read More

Wiseman, an acclaimed political economist, was appointed associate provost for strategic projects and Gavin Loss, scholar of education history and policy, was appointed associate provost for academic affairs. Both will serve two-year terms within the Office of Faculty Affairs and Professional Education, with Wiseman’s appointment effective with the 2024–25 academic year and Gavin Loss’ appointment effective on Jan. 1, 2025. Read More

Primary voters prefer incumbents with a proven record of success, according to a new working paper from the Center for Effective Lawmaking, coauthored by Alan Wiseman. Read More

For the first time, the Legislative Effectiveness Project has tracked whether the most effective lawmakers were re-elected. Read More

As voters prepare to go to the polls Nov. 4, they will be able to take the measure of their congressional representatives’ effectiveness using a new website developed by Vanderbilt University and University of Virginia political scientists. Read More

Alan Wiseman's research shows that women lawmakers, particularly ones in the minority party, are more effective than their male counterparts when it comes to negotiating and getting things done--as they did to end the government shutdown. Read More

Research by Vanderbilt political science professor Alan Wiseman and his coauthors find women in Congress in the minority party are more effective than their male counterparts when it comes to introducing and negotiating bills, spurring action on those bills, and ultimately seeing them become law. Read More

What makes some members of Congress better than others at moving bills through the legislative process? Alan Wiseman, co-director of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, has taken an in depth look at Congress’ last 35 years and tells us why women may have the upper hand. Read More

Public invited to lecture series on American politics Political experts John Geer, Dave Lewis and Alan Wiseman will speak during the spring Saturday University lecture series at Vanderbilt University. Saturday University, designed to fill the niche between the single lecture and a full degree program, offers a lecture… Read More