I am a Senior Lecturer at the William S. Cohen Institute for Leadership and Public Service at the University of Maine, where I teach courses in our interdisciplinary Leadership Studies program and in the Department of Political Science.

My research focuses on American politics, specifically American political development and US political history. My scholarly research has been published in Studies in American Political Development, The Journal of Policy History and The Forum. I have also published op-eds and analytical essays in several public venues including the Washington Post, Washington Monthly, Maine Policy Review, and the London School of Economics US Politics and Policy Blog.

I co-lead, with Luisa S. Deprez, the Maine Scholars Strategy Network’s Working Group on Social Policy and the Safety Net, which aims to inform public debate on issues related to social welfare policy, poverty, and inequality.

Before arriving at the University of Maine, I was a Visiting Lecturer in the Politics Department at Brandeis University and a fellow at the Gordon Center for American Public Policy. I received my Ph.D. from Brandeis University and my B.A. from Saint Michael’s College.

E-mail: ryan.m.larochelle@maine.edu