Group photo in the Commons Center (photo by Anne Rayner)
Advancing the Study of Effective Lawmaking: Highlights from CEL’s 7th Annual Research Conference
Nashville, TN – On Monday, June 2nd, 2025, the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) hosted its 7th annual research conference at Vanderbilt University. The conference brought together researchers and practitioners from around the country to share their latest research findings and to discuss trends in effective lawmaking in congress and state legislatures. The morning opened with remarks from CEL co-director Alan Wiseman, Associate Provost of Strategic Projects and Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Political Economy at Vanderbilt University.
Co-director Alan Wiseman giving his opening remarks (photo by Paige Higginson-Rollins, CEL)
The conference featured six research paper presentations:
- “Drawing Different Lawmakers: Redistricting Reform and Legislative Productivity” by Geoff Lorenz (University of Nebraska-Lincoln)
- “Social Capital on Capitol Hill: Congressional Staff and Legislative Productivity” by Emily Ommundsen (University of Mississippi)
- “Lawyers and Effective Lawmaking” by Eric Hansen (Loyola University-Chicago)
- “Accountability Under Gridlock: An Examination of Constituent Responses to Legislative Failure and Success” by Andrew Stone (University of Mississippi)
- “Legislative Effectiveness, Electoral Anticipation, and Garnering Campaign Advantage in the United States Senate” by Carlos Algara (Claremont Graduate University)
- “Pragmatic Partners: Legislative Effectiveness and Contributions from Nonpartisan Interest Groups” by Kristina Miler (University of Maryland-College Park)
“It was wonderful to bring together such an interesting group of scholars from a wide range of institutions, to engage with new research in this area, and to begin to explore new areas of study,” said CEL co-director Alan Wiseman. “Craig [Volden] and I are grateful for the community of faculty, graduate students, post-doctoral scholars, and other researchers who have been excited to engage with the Center over the years to help us advance our mission.”
After the conference presentations, CEL co-director Craig Volden, Professor of Public Policy and Politics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia, presented Fang-Yi Chiou and Max Goplerud with the 2025 Best Publication on Effective Lawmaking award for their paper, “Effective Lawmaking Across Congressional Eras.” Volden noted that this paper presented new methodologies that have the potential to truly transform how legislative effectiveness is measured across contemporary and historical eras, as well as in legislative setting around the world.
Max Goplerud (R) being presented with the CEL’s Best Publication award by co-director Craig Volden (L) (Photo by Anne Rayner).
“Max and Fang-Yi establish that the determinants and characteristics of effective lawmaking have varied significantly across different congressional eras. They systematically document the decline of ideological moderates and the rise of majority party influence over the past century, as well as a variety of other patterns, all linked to specific congressional reforms. Their work thus gives a sense not only of who has influence in lawmaking but also where that power comes from,” Volden said.
After the conference, attendees were invited to Vanderbilt University’s Dyer Observatory for dinner and a post-dinner round-table discussion with Ms. Shuwanza Goff, CEL Advisory Board member and former director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs during the Biden Administration, Mr. Brody Mullins, CEL Advisory Board member and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist (formerly with the Wall Street Journal), and Dr. Molly Reynolds, CEL Faculty Affiliate and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Facilitated by CEL co-director Alan Wiseman, the discussion focused on the prospects for effective lawmaking during the second Trump Administration.
Round-table discussion at Dyer Observatory. From left to right: Dr. Alan Wiseman, Brody Mullins, Shuwanza Goff, and Dr. Molly Reynolds (photo by Paige Higginson-Rollins, CEL)
The CEL extends its thanks to all conference participants and attendees for their contributions to the field of effective lawmaking, and to the support from Vanderbilt University staff for making this conference possible. As we look forward to next year’s conference, which will be held in Charlottesville, VA, at the University of Virginia, we are excited to see how the work of our community of researchers develops.
