Michael Crespin

Michael H. Crespin is Director and Curator of the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center and Professor of Political Science at the University of Oklahoma. He earned his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 2005 and served in the office of U.S. Representative Dan Lipinski as an APSA Congressional Fellow from 2005-06.

Crespin’s research focuses on legislative politics, congressional elections and political geography. His work on redistricting shows that when independent commissions draw legislative districts, they are more compact and divide fewer communities of interest. Other research finds races are more competitive when the power to draw congressional districts is removed from state legislatures. He also maintains the PIPC Roll Call Dataset

Crespin assists in leading the center's graduate program and undergraduate research fellows. He also guides students as they take part in the Capitol Scholars program with internships at the Capitol and weekly seminars on campus. Mike also teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on the U.S. Congress and American Federal Government. 

Crespin has published over 30 articles and book chapters. His work has appeared in the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Political Analysis, and State Politics and Policy Quarterly. Crespin was a Risser Innovative Teaching Fellow, was awarded an SSRC Negotiating Agreement in Congress Research Grant and has been PI or Co-PI on several other grants to promote civic engagement, increase opportunities to study Native American politics, digitize the OU Daily student newspaper, and to implement free, alternative textbooks.