Skip to main content

About Keith W. Smith

An associate professor of Political Science at the University of the Pacific, Professor Smith will teach regularly in the McGeorge public policy program.  He will most frequently teach Public Policy Statistics and Public Policy Research Tools.

A graduate of Pepperdine University, with a Master of Public Management from the University of Maryland, and then a PhD in Political Science at UC Berkeley, Dr. Smith has spent his career studying the intersection of public policy, political institutions, and public administration. While at the University of Maryland, Dr. Smith focused on social welfare policy, where he worked on welfare and low-income housing issues, in addition to a broader training in administrative processes and management. 

While at UC Berkeley, Dr. Smith's work focused on the ways in which political institutions interact to create public policies. His dissertation, which was nominated for the APSA Leonard D. White Award for best dissertation in public administration, examined how the U.S. Congress seeks to monitor and influence the behavior of federal administrative agencies. 

More recently, Dr. Smith has worked on questions of elections administration, studying the impact of different electoral reforms at the state and local level. He is currently working on a book assessing the impact of the top-two system of elections used by California and Washington.

Positions

2008 - Present Associate Professor, University of the Pacific ‐ College of the Pacific
to
Present Adjunct Professor of Public Policy, University of the Pacific ‐ McGeorge School of Law
to
2007 - 2008 Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Oregon
to

Curriculum Vitae

Disciplines

Research Interests

$
to
Enter a valid date range.
to
Enter a valid date range.

Honors and Awards

  • Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, University of California, Berkeley, 2003
  • Dissertation nominated for 2007 APSA Leonard D. White Award for best dissertation in public administration

Courses

  • U.S Government and Politics
  • Political Science Research (Methods)
  • Political Science Capstone
  • Pacific Seminar III: What Is an Ethical Life?
  • Pacific Seminar II: Public Problems, Public Policies
  • Pacific Seminar II: Picking the President in 2012
  • Pacific Seminar II: Making Elections Better
  • Pacific Seminar I: What Is a Good Society?
  • Introduction to Public Administration
  • Congress and the Presidency
  • Campaigns and Elections
  • California Politics

Education

to
2005 PhD, Political Science, University of California Berkeley
to
2000 MA, Political Science, University of California Berkeley
to
1999 MPM, University of Maryland ‐ School of Public Affairs
to
1997 BA, Political Science (Summa Cum Laude), Pepperdine University
to

Links

Contact Information

Email:

This author has not uploaded works yet.