Directory

Profile

Michelle Pautz received her B.A. in Economics, Political Science and Public Administration from Elon University in 2003. She then went on to receive her MPA from Virginia Tech in 2005 and her Ph.D. in Public Administration from Virginia Tech in 2008. She teaches and conducts research in environmental policy and regulation, government reform and accountability and film and politics. Prior to joining the UD faculty, Dr. Pautz taught at Elon University, Ferrum College and Virginia Tech. She also worked for the Virginia Department of Environment Quality and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. From 2017-22 she served as the Assistant Provost for the Common Academic Program and has also been the graduate program director for UD's Master of Public Administration program. She is the 2016 recipient of the Alumni Award for Faculty Teaching.

Degrees

• Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 2008
• MPA, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 2005
• B.A., Elon University 2003

Research interests

• Regulator/regulatee interactions
• Film and politics
• Food policy and regulation
• Environmental policy and regulation

Courses taught

• Administrative Law
• The American Political System
• Environmental Policy
• Film and Politics
• Introduction to Public Administration (Undergraduate and Graduate Program)
• Politics of Bureaucracy and Regulation
• Program Evaluation
• Public Policy
• Graduate Capstone in Public Administration

Selected publications

Books

Rinfret, Sara R. and Michelle C. Pautz. 2023. US Environmental Policy in Action. Third edition. New York: Palgrave.

Rinfret, Sara R., Denise Scheberle, and Michelle C. Pautz. 2022. Public Policy: A Concise Introduction. Second edition. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: CQ Press/Sage.

Hoflund, A. Bryce, John C. Jones, and Michelle C. Pautz, eds. 2021. Administering the U.S. Food System: Revisiting Food Policy & Politics. Lanham, MD: Lexington.

Pautz, Michelle C.  2020.  The CQ Press Career Guide for Public Sector Students.  Thousand Oaks, Calif.:  CQ Press/Sage.

Rinfret, Sara R. and Michelle C. Pautz. 2019. US Environmental Policy in Action. Second edition. New York: Palgrave.

Rinfret, Sara R., Denise Scheberle, and Michelle C. Pautz.  2019.  Public Policy:  A Concise Introduction.  Thousand Oaks, Calif.:  CQ Press/Sage.

Pautz, Michelle. 2018. Civil Servants on the Silver Screen: Hollywood's Depiction of Government and Bureaucrats. Lanham, MD: Lexington.

Hoflund, A. Bryce, John Jones, and Michelle C. Pautz, eds.  2017.  The Intersection of Food and Public Health:  Current Policy Challenges and Solutions.  New York:  Routledge.

Rinfret, Sara R. and Michelle C. Pautz.  2014. US Environmental Policy in Action: Practice & Implementation. New York: Palgrave.

Pautz, Michelle C. and Sara R. Rinfret.  2013. The Lilliputians of Environmental Regulation: The Perspective of State Regulators. New York: Routledge.

Peer-reviewed Journal Articles

Pautz, Michelle C. and Morgan D. Vogel. 2020. Investigating Faculty Motivation and its Connection to Faculty Work-Life Balance: Engaging Public Service Motivation to Explore Faculty Motivation. Journal of Public Affairs Education. 26, 4 (December): 437-457.

Pautz, Michelle C. and Jennifer Lumpkin. 2020. The American Dream in Film and Audience Attitudes: Audiences and Forrest Gump and Idiocracy. Public Voices. 16, 2 (Summer): 42-65.

Rinfret, Sara R. and Michelle C. Pautz.  2018.  On the Front-Lines of Implementing Environmental Regulation:  The Perspective of the Regulated Community in Montana. Review of Policy Research 35, 3 (May):  422-438.

Pautz, Michelle C. and Heidi Gauder.  2017.  Undergraduate Student Research Needs:  Faculty-Librarian Collaboration to Improve Information Literacy in Policy Papers. Journal of Public Affairs Education 23, 4 (October):  1017-1030.

Pautz, Michelle C. and Grant Neeley.  2017.  Beyond the Usual Complaints:  The Front-line Challenges and Opportunities of Small MPA Programs. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 23, 3 (July):  843-854.

Rinfret, Sara R. and Michelle C. Pautz.  2017.  In the Eye of the Storm:  Exploring How Montana and Ohio are Framing the Debate about the Clean Power Plan Rule. Environmental Practice 19, 1 (March):  26-37.

Pautz, Michelle C., Sara R. Rinfret, and Melissa L. Rorie.  2017.  Understanding the Regulatory Thicket:  Interactions among State Environmental Regulators and Regulatees. International Journal of Public Administration 40, 2 (January):  101-114.

Hoflund, A. Bryce, Richard Hyde, and Michelle Pautz. 2016. One HACCP, Two Approaches: Experiences with and Perceptions of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points Food Safety Management Systems in the US and the EU. Administration & Society. 48, 8 (October): 962-987.

Pautz, Michelle C. and Sara R. Rinfret. 2016. State Environmental Regulators: Perspectives of Trust with their Regulatory Counterparts. Journal of Public Affairs. 16, 1 (February): 28-38.

Rorie, Melissa L., Sara R. Rinfret, and Michelle C. Pautz. 2015. The Thin Green Line: Examining Environmental Regulation and Environmental Offending from Multiple Perspectives. International Journal of Crime, Law, & Justice 43, 4 (December): 586-608.

Rinfret, Sara R. and Michelle C. Pautz. 2015. Understanding Public Policymaking through the Work of Committees: Utilizing a Student-Led Congressional Hearing Simulation. Journal of Political Science Education 11, 4 (October-December): 442-454.

Pautz, Michelle C. 2016. Cops on Film: Hollywood’s Depiction of Law Enforcement in Popular Films, 1984-2014. PS: Political Science & Politics. 49, 2 (April): 250-258.

Pautz, Michelle C. 2016. Regulating Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The Supreme Court, the Environmental Protection Agency, Madison’s “Auxiliary Precautions,” and Rohr’s “Balance Wheel.” Public Integrity. 18, 2 (Spring): 149-166.

Pautz, Michelle C.  2015.  "Argo" and "Zero Dark Thirty":  Film, Government, and Audiences. PS: Political Science & Politics 48, 1 (January): 120-128.

Rinfret, Sara, Jeffrey J. Cook, and Michelle C. Pautz. 2014. "Understanding State Rulemaking Processes: Developing Fracking Rules in Colorado, New York, and Ohio." Review of Policy Research 31, 2 (March):  88-104.

Pautz, Michelle C.  2014. "Civil Servants on the Silver Screen: The Depiction of Government in American and Australian Cinema." International Journal of Public Administration 37, 3 (February): 141-154.

Pautz, Michelle C. and Megan K. Warnement.  2013. "Government on the Silver Screen: Contemporary American Cinema’s Depiction of Attractive, Capable Bureaucrats, Incompetent Cops, and Brave Soldiers." PS: Political Science & Politics 46, 3 (July):  569-579.

Hoflund, A. Bryce and Michelle C. Pautz.  2013. "Improving Food Safety through Self-Regulation: Experiences with Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) Systems in the Produce Industries." Food Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal. 2, 1 (May):  17-30.

Rinfret, Sara R. and Michelle C. Pautz. 2013. "Attitudes and Perspectives of Front-line Workers in Environmental Policy:  A Case Study of Ohio EPA and Wisconsin DNR." Journal of Public Affairs 13, 1 (February):  111-122.

Pautz, Michelle C. and Carolyn Slott Wamsley. 2012. "Pursuing Trust in Environmental Regulatory Interactions: The Significance of Inspectors’ Interactions with the Regulated Community."  Administration & Society, 44, 7 (October):  853-884.

Pautz, Michelle C. 2012. "Their Views Matter: Front-line Environmental Regulators’ Perceptions of the Regulated Community in Ohio." Policy Studies Journal 40, 2 (May):  302-323.

Pautz, Michelle C. and Sara R. Rinfret.  2011." Making Sense of the Front-lines: Environmental Inspectors in Ohio and Wisconsin." Journal of Environmental Studies & Sciences 1, 4 (December):  277-288.

Pautz, Michelle C. 2011. "Reconsidering Accountability for Environmental Inspectors: Trading 'Compliance by Computer' for Relationship Building. Public Administration Quarterly 35, 3 (Fall): 361-399.

Pautz, Michelle C. 2011. "Challenging the Constitution: Convening a Mock Constitutional Convention for American Government Students." PS: Political Science & Politics 44, 3 (July): 648-651.

Pautz, Michelle C. 2010. "Front-line Regulators and their Approach to Environmental Regulation in Southwest Ohio." Review of Policy Research. 27, 6 (November): 761-780.

Pautz, Michelle C. 2010. "Next Generation Environmental Policy and the Implications for Environmental Inspectors: Are Fears of Regulatory Capture Warranted?"  Environmental Practice 12, 3 (September):  247-259.

Pautz, Michelle C. and Laura Roselle. 2010. "Are They Ready for Their Close-Up?  Civil Servants and their Portrayal in Contemporary American Cinema." Public Voices 11, 1 (Winter):  8-32.

Pautz, Michelle C. 2009. "Trust Between Regulators and the Regulated: A Case Study of Environmental Inspectors and Facility Personnel in Virginia." Politics & Policy 37, 5 (October): 1047-1072.

Pautz, Michelle C. and C. "Patrick Washington. 2009. Sarbanes-Oxley and the Relentless Pursuit of Government Accountability: The Perils of 21st Century Reform."  Administration & Society, 41, 6 (October):  651-673.

Pautz, Michelle C. 2009. "Perceptions of the Regulated Community in Environmental Policy: The View from Below."  Review of Policy Research 26, 5 (September):  533-550.

Pautz, Michelle C. and Marcy H. Schnitzer. 2008. "Policymaking from Below: The Role of Environmental Inspectors and Publics."  Administrative Theory & Praxis 30, 4 (December):  450-475.

Selected presentations

Invited Presentations:

West Chester University, Penn State Harrisburg, & Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, “The Magic of the Movies and the Civil Service.”  May 8, 2018.

University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, Ann Arbor, Michigan, "Relying on the Little Giants: The Lilliputians and the Future of Environmental Regulation." October 20, 2014. 

US EPA - Office of Environmental Compliance Assurance, Next Generation Environmental Compliance Workshop, Washington, D.C., December 10 & 11, 2012, "The Lilliputians of Environmental Regulation."  Co-presented with Sara Rinfret.

Young Institute of Public Administration Australia Seminar, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, September 19, 2012, "Public Administration Exposed." Panel Speaker.

Institute of Public Administration Australia’s 2012 International Congress, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, September 18, 2012, "Civil Servants on the Silver Screen: The Depiction of Government in American and Australian Cinema." Keynote address.

Conference Presentations:

Southern Political Science Association Annual Conference, Austin, Texas, January 17-19, 2019, “The American Dream in Film and the Effects of its Portrayal on Audiences.”  Co-presented with Jennifer Lumpkin.

American Political Science Association Annual Conference, Boston, Massachusetts, August 30 – September 2, 2018, “Research and Approaches:  U.S. Environmental Policymaking in the Trump Era.”  Roundtable panel participant.

Southern Political Science Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, January 4-6, 2018, “Movie Portrayals of Public Policy Issues and Possible Influence: A Case Study of Environmental Issues and Terrorism in Film.” 

American Political Science Association Teaching & Learning Conference, Long Beach, California, February 10-12, 2017, “Class Format and Student Attitudes Toward Political Participation.”  Co-presented with Sara Rinfret.

Southern Political Science Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, January 12-14, 2017, “Civil Servants on the Silver Screen:  Overall Views of Government in Contemporary American Cinema.”  

Southern Political Science Association Annual Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico, January 7-9, 2016, “Collaborating with Reference Librarians to Improve Information Literacy in a Policy Course.”

Southern Political Science Association Annual Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico, January 7-9, 2016, “In the Eye of the Storm: A Case Study on State Media Coverage Implementing the New Coal-Burning Power Plant Rules.” Co-presented with Sara Rinfret.

Food Studies Association Annual Conference, Blacksburg, Virginia, September 18-19, 2015, “On the Frontlines of School Food Regulation Implementation.” Co-presented with Bryce Hoflund and John Jones.

Law & Society Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington, May 28-31, 2015, "The Thin Green Line: Examining Environmental Regulation and Environmental Offending from Multiple Perspectives." Co-presented with Sara Rinfret and Melissa Rorie.

Northeastern Conference on Public Administration, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, November 6-8, 2014, "The Need for Collaborative Governance Between Environmental Regulators and the Regulated Community."

Midwest Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, Illinois, April 3-6, 2014, "The Intelligence Community in Film: The Portrayal of Civil Servants in Argo and Zero Dark Thirty"

Midwest Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, Illinois, April 3-6, 2014, "Understanding State Rulemaking Processes: Developing Fracking Rules in Colorado, New York, and Ohio."  Co-presented with Sara Rinfret and Jeff Cook.

Law & Society Association Annual Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts, May 30- June 2, 2013, "Whom Do TheyTrust? Environmental Regulators and Trust in the Regulated Community." Co-presented with Sara Rinfret.

Western Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Hollywood, California, March 28-30, 2013, "Environmental Regulators on the Front-lines." Co-presented with Sara Rinfret.

American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, August 30 – September 2, 2012, "Environmental Regulators on the Front-Lines: A View from the States." Co-presenting with Sara Rinfret.  Proposal accepted and conference attendance planned, but conference canceled due to hurricane.
 
Law & Society Association Annual Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii, June 5-8, 2012, "Front-line Environmental Regulators and their Interactions with the Regulated Community: The Lilliputians of U.S. Environmental Policy."  Co-presented with Sara Rinfret.

Western Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Portland, Oregon, March 22-24, 2012, "Attitudes and Perspectives: Environmental Regulators in Ohio and Wisconsin." Co-presented with Sara Rinfret.

Law & Society Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, June 1-5, 2011, "Perspectives from the Front-lines of Environmental Regulation: A Case Study of Inspectors in Ohio and Wisconsin"

Law & Society Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, June 1-5, 2011, "One HACCP, Two Approaches: Experiences with and Perceptions of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points Food Safety Management Systems in the US and EU." Co-presented with A. Bryce Hoflund and Richard Hyde.

Law & Society Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, June 1-5, 2011, "Self-regulation Trends in Food Safety:  Experiences with Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) Systems in the Produce Industries." Co-presented with A. Bryce Hoflund.

Midwest Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, Illinois, March 30-April 3, 2011, "Rescuing Government? Depictions of Military and Law Enforcement in Contemporary American Cinema." Co-presented with Meg Warnement.

Midwest Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, Illinois, March 30-April 3, 2011, "A New Perspective: Environmental Policy and Regulators on the Front-Lines." Co-presented with Sara Rinfret.

Midwest Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, Illinois, March 30-April 3, 2011, "Their Views Matter: Front-line Regulators’ Perceptions of the Regulated Community in Ohio."

Law & Society Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, May 27-30, 2010, "Improving Food Safety through Self-Regulation: Exploring the Applicability of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points System to the Spinach and Peanut Industries." Co-presented with A. Bryce Hoflund.

Midwest Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, Illinois, April 21-25, 2010, "The Pursuit of Trust in Environmental Regulatory Interactions: Why it is Not as Simple as Good Versus Bad." Co-presented with Carolyn Slott Wamsley.

Midwest Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, Illinois, April 21-25, 2010, "Front-line Regulators and Their Approach to Environmental Regulation in Ohio."

American Society for Public Administration’s 71st Annual National Conference, San Jose, California, April 9-13, 2010, "Reconsidering Accountability for Environmental Inspectors Trading ‘Compliance by Computer’ for Relationship Building."

Southeastern Conference for Public Administration Conference, Louisville, Kentucky, October 1-3, 2009, "Perceptions of the Regulated Community in Environmental Policy:  The View from Below."

Southeastern Conference for Public Administration Conference, Louisville, Kentucky, October 1-3, 2009, "Returning to Our Roots: Reexamining the Roles of Environmental Inspectors for the Future of Environmental Regulation."

Midwest Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, Illinois, April 2-5, 2009, "Next Generation Environmental Policy and the Implications for Environmental Inspectors: The Death of Inspectors?"

American Society for Public Administration's 70th Annual National Conference, Miami, Florida, March 20-24, 2009, "Are They Ready for Their Close-Up? Civil Servants and Their Portrayal in Contemporary American Cinema." Co-presented with Laura Roselle.

Public Administration Theory Network's 21st Annual Meeting, Richmond, Virginia, May 29-30, 2008, "Excluded from the Environmental Public Sphere: The Public and Inspectors." Co-presented with Marcy H. Schnitzer.

Midwest Political Science Association Conference, Chicago, Illinois, April 3-6, 2008, "Adversarial or Not Adversarial? The Nature of the Relationships Between Environmental Compliance Inspectors and Regulated Officials."

Southeastern Conference for Public Administration Conference, Nashville, Tennessee, September 26-30, 2007, "The Perils of 21st Century Reform: Sarbanes-Oxley and the Relentless Pursuit of Accountability." Co-presented with C. Patrick Washington.

American Society for Public Administration's 68th Annual National Conference, Washington, D.C., March 25-27, 2007, "Neo-Liberal Reforms, a Growing Role for Civil Society, and Implications for Public Administration and Democratic Governance." Co-presented with Angela Eikenberry.

Southeastern Conference for Public Administration Conference, Athens, Georgia, September 27-30, 2006,"Environmental Compliance Inspectors as Boundary Spanners: Restoring Trust in the Environmental Regulatory System."

American Society for Public Administration's 67th Annual National Conference, Denver, Colorado, March 31-April 4, 2006, "Empowering Human Service Program and Process Improvement through Cooperative Third Party Evaluation and Technical Assistance: Pulaski County's Implementation of the Comprehensive Services Act." Co-presented with John Bumgarner.

Eastern Economic Association 28th Annual Conference, Boston, Massachusetts, March 15-17, 2002, "The Decline in Average Weekly Cinema Attendance, 1930-2000."