Michael K. McLendon

A Challenging and Rewarding Atmosphere

Michael McLendon is Associate Professor of Public Policy and Higher Education at  Peabody College, where he also directs the Program in Higher Education Leadership and Policy and the Master’s of Public Policy (MPP) program. One of the things which impresses him most about Peabody is “the extent to which the college fosters and rewards creativity, whether taking the form of support for fresh research agendas or for new academic programs and initiatives.”

He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in state politics and policy, organization and governance of higher education, and leadership.

“One of the remarkable things about our students is the level of intellectual curiosity they bring to the classroom. The teaching experience here at Peabody continually challenges and rewards.”

In his research, professor McLendon studies the relationship between state socio-political systems and policy adoption for higher education. His recent work has focused on the factors influencing tuition and public financing levels in higher education and state adoption of new performance-based accountability mandates and governance reforms.

“The research work in which I am engaged seeks to shed light on how the design of state systems influences policy for higher education,” says McLendon. “The 50 American states provide a superb laboratory for studying policy design. Understanding more fully how and why states make the decisions they do has important implications for reforming governance and finance of higher education in the United States.”

His research builds both on several large state-level datasets that he has constructed, and on data he collects from interviews with legislators, higher education officials, and other policy leaders in the states.

Michael K. McLendon

• Associate Professor of Higher Education and Public Policy
• Research Focus: Higher Education and Public Policy
• Constantly Surprised by: The extent to which the college rewards creativity