Jennifer Jensen

Biography

Jennifer Jensen is professor of political science at Lehigh University. Before joining Lehigh in 2013, she served on the faculty at Bucknell University, the University at Albany (SUNY), and Binghamton University (SUNY). She also served as a staff member in the U.S. House of Representatives and as an energy lobbyist in Washington, D.C. Professor Jensen earned a B.A. from the University of Michigan, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina.

Much of Professor Jensen’s work examines the relationships between subnational governments and the federal government. She is particularly interested in how public officials represent their governments’ interests before the federal government. Her recent book, The Governors’ Lobbyists: Federal-State Relations Offices and Governors Associations in Washington (University of Michigan Press, 2016), examines governors’ lobbying offices and associations from their establishment to the present day.

Through her research on political careers, Professor Jensen has examined such questions as why people choose to work in and around government, and why some people have greater political ambitions than others. With the late Thad Beyle, formerly professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina, she has compiled and maintained for many years the Gubernatorial Campaign Expenditures Database.