Holley Tankersley, Ph.D.
htankers@coastal.edu
Coastal Carolina University
Country: United States (South Carolina)
About Me:
I am a political scientist with research and teaching expertise in public policy and political institutions, and I currently serve as Associate Provost for Strategy and Development at Coastal Carolina University. Prior to being appointed Associate Provost, I served as Dean of the Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts at Coastal Carolina University (2011-2012, 2016-2019 and Chair of the Department of Politics (2012-2016). During my four-year tenure in the latter role, I promoted and managed growth of the department as it doubled in size; led faculty in deepening and expanding their commitment to high-impact learning practices; and founded the Edgar Dyer Institute for Leadership and Public Policy, an endowed teaching and research center focused on solving the policy problems of the community and the region. I am currently developing a campus-wide structured dialogue program that unites students from diverse backgrounds to discuss how their experiences can create a strong, interconnected, and inspired campus community. My teaching and research interests are centered on political institutions and public policy, with particular interests in women in politics and how policy outcomes impact underrepresented populations. Before entering academia, I served as a government consultant, generating policy analysis for the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Health and Human Services. A native of Alabama, I earned a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Georgia. I graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Birmingham-Southern College.
Research Interests
Public Policy
State and Local Politics
American Presidency And Executive Politics
Gender and Politics
Judicial Politics
U.S. Social Policy
Political Institutions
Women And Politics
Higher Education Policy
Countries of Interest
United States
My Research:
My research is centered on questions about how institutional structures and characteristics shape policy outputs and outcomes, particularly as those outputs and outcomes impact women and underrepresented populations. I am particularly interested in comparisons across the U.S. state level, though I also investigate ways in which changes at the federal/national level impact changes across states.
Publications:
Journal Articles:
While women are underrepresented in many political institutions and leadership positions, nearly half of state supreme court chief justices are women. Is there something about the role of state supreme court justice that facilitates the recruitment of women to this important political position? We examine whether the selection of a woman chief is driven by the court’s institutional need for women’s leadership style or simply the supply of qualified justices. We find that ideological diversity drives demand for a woman chief. A supply of experienced women justices also has a significant impact on likelihood of selection.
Many assessment studies are devoted to discovering whether student knowledge increases after successful completion of a specific course; fewer studies attempt to examine whether students undergo a change in their values and attitudes as a result of that coursework. Given the continuing emphasis on assessment and the fulfillment of core curriculum goals at universities across the country, we designed a two-phase study of student learning outcomes in both core curriculum and major requirement courses. In addition to measuring changes in student knowledge, we also examine student attitude changes as a result of taking Introduction to World Politics or American National Government. We theorize that teaching such courses may impact student attitudes in such a way as to increase both knowledge and the likelihood of political participation. As such, our study provides insights into whether our students are meeting established student learning outcomes, but it also has implications for public policy and politics. Using data from a multiple-semester study, we find that introductory-level courses in both American and world politics not only lead to increases in student knowledge about and interest in politics but also affect slight but significant changes in political attitudes.
The determination that sexual harassment constituted "discrimination based on sex" under Title VII was first made by the lower federal courts, not Congress. Drawing from the literature on policy diffusion, this article examines the adoption of hostile work environment standards across the U.S. Courts of Appeals in the absence of controlling Supreme Court precedent. The results bolster recent findings about the influence of female judges on their male colleagues and suggest that in addition to siding with female plaintiffs, female judges also helped to shape legal rules that promoted gender equality in the workplace.
Some researchers argue over the existence of a "litigation explosion," while others seek to understand the causes of variation in citizen legal mobilization and rates of litigation among states. Existing studies have provided important insight into citizens' propensity to invoke the state courts to settle disputes; however, there remain unresolved questions concerning state litigation rates. The authors argue that the structural aspects of state judicial systems, specifically the professionalism of the courts and method of judicial selection, have important implications for litigiousness. They further suggest that the effects of these institutional structural characteristics are conditioned on the political environment of the state in which they operate. The authors consider tort litigation rates in ten states over twenty years to assess the proposition that these institutional structural characteristics of state court systems affect state citizen legal mobilization, expressed as litigation rates.
Book Chapters:
The promotion of "family values" has dominated political rhetoric in the United States for nearly sixty years. Politicians use this ambiguous term to appeal to voters' perceived desires for a return to an American past in which social and economic life was less complicated. Ironically, the introduction of family values into the the political debate is anything but simple; the use of the term makes politics vastly more complicated, as it is widely accepted that the word "values" is an inherently political term with ideological connotations. Less present in the public policy or political debate, but perhaps just as controversial, is the definition of "family." The majority of social welfare and labor policies in the United States incorporate at least a handful of provisions that either rely on or recognize alternate definitions of family when delineating eligibility for benefits. Consequently, it becomes critical to define "family" in such a way that meets the realities of modern life.
Media Appearances:
TV Appearances:
In-studio Facebook Live and broadcast discussion of 2018 midterm elections
A primer on voter referenda and constitutional amendments included on 2018 midterm ballot (South Carolina)