Meet our Faculty Affiliate: Tessa Provins

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is pleased to announce Tessa Provins as one of our newest faculty affiliates.

Provins is an Assistant Professor in the School of Government and Public Policy at the University of Arizona. Her research focuses on American legislative institutions, with particular attention to how the design of legislative rules and procedures shapes lawmaking and representation. She examines how institutional features—including committee referral practices, debate rules, and party control of the agenda—affect the ability of legislatures to produce laws and how these outcomes vary across groups divided by race, gender, and party affiliation. Her ongoing research examines the impacts of legislative rules on parties’ ability to advance their agendas across different stages of the legislative process. Her work has been published in several peer-reviewed outlets, including the Journal of Politics, Journal of Public Policy, Political Research Quarterly, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Public Choice, Publius: The Journal of Federalism, and the Election Law Journal.

The CEL is excited to have Professor Provins on our team, and we look forward to supporting her research related to effective lawmaking.