Carol Weissert is LeRoy Collins Eminent Scholar and Professor of Political Science at Florida State University. In 2016 she was Fulbright Distinguished Professor in American Political Science at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia. 

Her principal research interests are federalism and state politics with a special focus on health policy. She is the former editor of Publius: The Journal of Federalism. Her current research explores intergovernmental bargaining between federal and state governments, vertical diffusion of policies, policy implementation and the impact of devolution.

She is co-author of Governing Health: The Politics of Health Policy (now in its fourth edition); her research has appeared in journals including the Journal of Politics, Publius: The Journal of Federalism, Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Health Affairs, Political Research Quarterly and Administration and Society.

She is the recipient of the Daniel Elazar Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations from the Federalism Section of the APSA and the Donald Stone Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Intergovernmental Relations from the Section on Intergovernmental Relations of the American Society of Public Administration. She is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

She has been president of the Southern Political Science Association and has chaired the Federalism Section of APSA. In addition, she has held leadership positions in and chaired committees for State Politics and Policy, Public Policy, and Health Politics and Policy Sections of APSA.  She was chair of APSA’s Organized Section Committee.

She has served on editorial boards of the American Political Science Review, State Politics and Policy Quarterly, Publius: The Journal of Federalism and the Journal of Political Science Education.

At FSU she is director of the LeRoy Collins Institute for Public Policy. Prior to coming to FSU, she was professor of political science and director of the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research at Michigan State University. Her Ph.D. in political science is from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Statement of Views:

On the executive council, I will encourage cooperation and close working relationships with organized sections which comprise a key component of the success of the APSA.  I will work to strengthen APSA efforts to welcome and mentor new members, especially graduate students and junior scholars and to foster new mechanisms for member feedback on APSA member services and support.