Eleanor Schiff

Assistant Teaching Professor of Political Science, Penn State University

I specialize in American political institutions with a particular focus on inter-branch interactions with the federal bureaucracy, policymaking dynamics (particularly Education), and extra-institutional actors’ influence on the bureaucracy. My 2020 book, Bureaucracy’s Masters and Minions: The Politics of Controlling the U.S. Bureaucracy, explores how the President and the Congress jointly control the bureaucracy and how agency specific characteristics including workforce composition, responsibilities, and organization can temper the degree of political control.  My work has also appeared in Interest Groups & Advocacy, and Administration and Society.

I teach a variety of classes including Introduction to American Politics, the Congress, the Presidency, Campaigns and Elections, and Public Administration among others.

I have also held appointments at Bucknell University and Dickinson College. I received my Ph.D. in Political Science from Penn State in 2017. In addition I  also hold an M.B.A. from Penn State and a B.A., cum laude, from Carleton College.  Prior to my academic career, I held numerous demanding roles across the U.S. government including four years at the White House. Additionally, I  served as the Deputy Director for Commission on the Future of Higher Education and held staff positions in the U.S. Senate.   I am most at home in the classroom and enjoy engaging with students and helping them to grow as thinkers and writers.