Jared Heern

Jared Heern

Visiting Assistant Professor of Government and Environmental Studies

Connecticut College

Welcome! I am entering my second year as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Government and Environmental Studies at Connecticut College. Formerly, I was a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Environment and Society at Brown University, also affiliated with the Climate Social Science Network and a Senior Researcher with Timmons Roberts' Climate and Development Lab. I received a Ph.D. in Political Science as a Policy Studies Endowment Fellow at George Washington University in August 2022.

Originally from rural Southern Illinois, I earned a B.A. in Political Science with minors in environmental studies and biology from Truman State University in Northeast Missouri. Growing up in an area developed through the coal industry, but surrounded by a national forest and state parks, I was driven to better understand the balancing act between the energy industry and environmental protection. This guided my research as an undergraduate and was further influenced by nine months working in all three branches of the Missouri government. I primarily worked with state utility regulation and energy policy in the Missouri Senate and Department of Natural Resources.

My research is generally concerned with better understanding how and why the federal and state governments address (or do not address) climate change. I focus on energy and environmental politics and policy, primarily in the contexts of executive and legislative branch behavior, partisanship, interest groups, and public opinion and representation.

My dissertation examined the influence of partisanship and other forces on the policy decisions of state public utility commissions (PUCs)–responsible for regulating a substantial portion of state electrical power policy–and how those policy decisions ultimately affect conditions related to climate change. I have assembled expansive original data on the characteristics of the public utility commissioners who served in all 50 states from 2000 to 2020 and coded a large volume of their policy decisions in a growing sample of 10 states. This project has stimulated an active research agenda on the politics and policy decisions of PUCs that can inform our understanding of climate change policymaking, state politics, gubernatorial appointments, legislative control of the bureaucracy, interest group strategies and influence, and other areas.

Download my Full CV

Interests
  • Public Utility Commissions
  • Energy Politics and Policy
  • Executive and Legislative Branch Behavior
  • State Politics
  • Climate Change Obstruction
Education

  • Ph.D., Political Science, August 2022

    George Washington Univeristy

  • B.A., Political Science, Summa Cum Laude, May 2017

    Truman State University

Research

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Heern, Jared. 2023. “Who’s Controlling Our Energy Future? Industry and Environmental Representation on United States Public Utility Commissions.” Energy Research & Social Science 101: 103091.

Working Papers

“Partisan Climate Appointments: U.S. Governors and State Public Utility Commissions, 2000-2020.” (Invited to Revise and Resubmit at Environmental Politics).

“Where’s the Public in Public Utility Commission Decisions? Public Influence in Rooftop Solar Conflicts.” With Anthony Bishop-Gylys and J. Timmons Roberts (Invited to Revise and Resubmit at Utilities Policy)

“Regulatory Capture at Public Utility Commissions." With Michelle Graff and Gabe Chan

“Partisanship and the Environmental Policy Decisions of Public Utility Commissions.”

“Legislative Control of State Public Utility Commission Climate Policy.”

Ongoing Projects

“Public Utility Commission Reform, Equity, and Climate Change in New England.” with J. Timmons Roberts

Dissertation

  • “Partisanship and the Policy Decisions of State Public Utility Commissions and Implications for Climate Change”
    • Committee: Sarah Binder (Chair), Eric Lawrence, Chris Warshaw

Public utility commissions (PUCs) are critical political institutions in all 50 states responsible for regulating public services, affecting the provision, cost, and sources of electrical power. Given their influence over state energy policies, PUCs could play a significant role in stemming climate change. It is expected that partisanship may be a primary driver of PUC environmental policy decisions similar to other political institutions. I assemble expansive original data on the partisan and professional compositions of the PUCs in all 50 states from 2000 to 2020, and code the environmental implications of a large volume of final policy decisions in a smaller sample of states. It is found that Democratic PUCs issue more pro-environmental orders than Republican commissions. The partisan control and policy decisions of PUCs are then related to downstream indicators relevant to climate change. There are no expected effects of additional pro-environmental decisions on energy generation sources, energy efficiency, or harmful air emissions from the electrical power sector. Improved measurement of PUC policies, data from additional states, and a greater consideration of the interactions between PUCs and state legislatures should yield better understanding of the role that PUCs play in addressing climate change.

Teaching

Instructor of Record

  • Connecticut College

    • GOV 111: Intro to U.S. Government (F2024, F2025)
    • ES 100B: Intro ES: Environmental Politics (Spr2025, Spr2026)
    • GOV/ES 251: Environmental Activism & Political Impact (Spr2026)
    • GOV/ES 258: U.S. Environmental Policy & Politics (F2024, Spr2025, Spr2026)
    • Syllabus
    • GOV/ES 494B: Climate Politics and Equity Seminar (Spr2025, F2025)
    • Syllabus
    • GOV 492: Independent Study Advisor (F2025)

  • George Washington University

    • PSC 2101: Scope and Methods of Political Science (Summer 2021, Online)
    • Syllabus

Course Evaluation Excerpts

  • “This course was a very interesting introduction to environmental policy. I really appreciated how the assignments were a range of formats: projects, journals, presentations, papers, and exams…Quizzes were helpful for preparing for exams, and it was nice (stress alleviating) that they were not graded. During class, lectures were very easy to follow. Especially since it was a 9 am, all brief ruptures in the lecture were greatly appreciated (graphs, pictures, videos, funny quips).”

  • “Dr. Heern is incredibly knowledgeable. HE NEEDS TO STAY. Keep him and keep this class, I’ve learned so much.”

  • “Dr. Heern was a very organized, passionate professor who expanded my knowledge of U.S. environmental policy and politics, offering insight into a great number of topics without losing effectiveness by not going into depth on them. His written assignments were constructive and a helpful way to understand policy”

  • “Dr. Heern provided an excellent learning environment. He knows his S**T. This was my favorite class this spring and I really enjoyed it”

  • “The real-world application was well explained and the homework felt applicable to the course work and helped me better understand what we were talking about - not busy work. The professor was easy to reach and very helpful. His feedback was always encouraging and constructive.”

  • “Great teacher. Managed an asynchronous lecture well. Assignments were well developed and feedback was helpful.”

  • “The instructor covered the topics thoroughly and explained them very well. Also easy to reach and flexible.”

Additional Instruction

  • Brown University
    • Assistant Instructor, ENVS 1574: Climate Policy Research: Organizations and Obstruction (F2022, F2023)
  • George Washington University
    • Head Instructor, Incoming PhD Cohort Math Camp, August 2019, 2020
    • Developed curriculum and lectured for one week course for incoming PhD students. Materials ranged from review of algebra and calculus to basics of regression analysis and causal inference to an introduction to statistical processing and reference management software.

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