Greg Thorson Ph.D.

• Ph.D., political science, University of California, Riverside, 1995
• M.A., political science, University of California, Riverside, 1993
• B.A., political science, Augsburg College, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1988

Greg Thorson joined University of Redlands in July 2008 with a distinguished record of research in public policy. Much of his scholarship focuses on education policy, health care policy, and the policy process. His research has been published in leading journals in the field, including Journal of Politics, Political Research Quarterly, Congress and the Presidency, Educational Leadership, World Affairs, Journal of Poverty & Public Policy, and International Journal of Forecasting.

Professor Thorson played a leadership role in the creation of both the undergraduate major in public policy and the University’s master of public policy and administration program.

• Economic inequality
• Education policy
• Health care policy
• Professional Background
• Public policy
• Quantitative methods

• Thorson, Gregory R., and Sera M. Gearhart. 2019. “Do Enhanced Funding Policies Targeting Students in Poverty Close Achievement Gaps? Evidence from the American States, 1990–2015.” Journal of Poverty & Public Policy 11: 205–221. https://doi.org/10.1002/pop4.253
• Thorson, Gregory R., and Sera M. Gearhart. 2018. “The Adverse Effects of Economic Inequality on Educational Outcomes: An Examination of PISA Scores, 2000–2015.” World Affairs, September 2018, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/0043820018799425
• Thorson, Gregory R. 2015. “Should You Choose a Career in Public Policy?” In Kishor Vaidya, ed., Public Policy for the Curious: Why Study Public Policy. Curious Academic Publishing.
• Thorson, Gregory R., and Matthew H. Gutierrez. 2012. “Should We Wait for Superman? Evaluating the Performance of Charter Schools in the Greater Los Angeles Area.” Final grant report published by the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation.
• Thorson, Gregory R., and Matthew H. Gutierrez. 2012. “Using Clickers to Enhance the Classroom Experience.” The Western 4, no. 1: 5–13. Sacramento, California: Western Political Science Association.
• Thorson, Gregory R., Joel Dueth, Jacob Anderson, Katherine Clark, Brad Coulombe, Joel Deuth, Dan Moore, Evan Mowry, Hilary Opatz, and Christopher Yard. 2008. “Toward a Better Understanding of Rural Homelessness: An Examination of Housing Crisis in a Small, Rural Minnesota Community.” Morris, Minnesota: Center for Small Towns.
• Thorson, Gregory R., Tasina Nitzschke, and Nicholas J. Maxwell. 2007. “Testing the Three Theories of Legislative Organization: An Examination of Rule Assignments during the Postreform Period.” Congress and the Presidency 34, no. 2: 23–34.
• Thorson, Gregory R., and Jessica Anderson. 2006. “The Minnesota Miracle Abandoned? Changes in Minnesota School Funding, 2001–2007.” Rural Minnesota Journal. Mankato, Minnesota: Center for Rural Policy and Development, September 2006, 27–44.
• Thorson, Gregory R., Neil Lindsheid, and Tara Schmidt. 2005. “The Search for Affordable Health Care in Rural Minnesota: Prospects and Problems for Market-Based Solutions.” Published jointly by the Center for Small Towns and the West Central Regional Sustainable Development Partnership.
• Thorson, Gregory R., and Zoe Wong. 2004. “Resource Distribution and Rural Minnesota Schools.” Consortium Connections 13, no. 1. Children, Youth, and Family Consortium.
• Thorson, Gregory R., and Tara Schmidt. 2003. “A Health Care System in Critical Condition: Evidence of the Declining Affordability of Health Care Insurance and the Erosion of Health Care Infrastructure in West Central Minnesota.” Center for Small Towns, November 2003.
• Thorson, Gregory R., and Nicholas J. Maxwell. 2002. “Small Schools Under Siege: Evidence of Resource Inequality in Minnesota Schools.” Center for Rural Policy, August 2002.
• Thorson, Gregory R., and Tasina Nitzschke. 2000. “Politics and Policy in the 103rd and 104th Congresses: Evaluating the Effects of Divided Government in the Postreform Era.” Congress and the Presidency 27: 1–24.
• Edmondson, Jacqueline, Gregory R. Thorson, and David Fluegel. 2000. “Searching for Solutions: The Community Vision Process in Herman, Minnesota.” Educational Leadership 57: 51–53.
• Thorson, Gregory R., and Jacqueline Edmondson. 2000. “Making Difficult Times Worse: The Impact of Per-Pupil Funding Formulas on Rural Minnesota Schools.” Published by the Center for Rural Policy and Development, Minnesota State University, Mankato, and the U.S. Department of Education’s Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC).
• Stambough, Stephen J., and Gregory R. Thorson. 1999. “Toward Stability in Presidential Forecasting: The Development of a Multiple-Indicator Model.” International Journal of Forecasting 15: 143–152.
• Thorson, Gregory R. 1998. “Divided Government and the Passage of Partisan Legislation, 1947–1990.” Political Research Quarterly 51, no. 3: 751–764.
• Thorson, Gregory R., and Stephen J. Stambough. 1995. “Anti-Incumbency and the 1992 Elections: The Changing Face of Presidential Coattails.” Journal of Politics 57, no. 1: 210–220.

• PLCY 100: Introduction to Public Policy
• POLI 111: Introduction to American Government
• POLI 215: Education Politics and Policy
• POLI 216: Health Care Policy
• POLI 257: Policymaking in Washington, D.C.
• MPPA 601: Public Policy Analysis
• MPPA 606: Advanced Regression Techniques
• MPPA 607: Causal Inference
• MPPA 650: Research to Practice