February 20, 2009
By Gabe Grass
Communications Coordinator, Office of Advancement Relations
FSU Foundation
Sometimes it is difficult for new faculty to learn their way around their adopted state. And then there is the case of Carol Weissert, LeRoy Collins Eminent Scholar and professor of political science at The Florida State University.
Dr. Carol Weissert came to FSU in the fall of 2003 from Michigan State University with a charge of leading a project to conduct research on Florida’s tax and spending policies given to the LeRoy Collins Institute, an independent, nonpartisan research group at FSU.
"Things just ended up fitting fortuitously together," recalls Weissert. The director of the LeRoy Collins Institute, Jim Apthorp, had just facilitated a grant from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund in Jacksonville, Fla. to conduct research on Florida's tax and spending policies, and he needed a prestigious scholar to lead the project. Weissert's research focused on issues relating to federalism, intergovernmental relations and state politics—making her a perfect match to direct the project with David Denslow, economics professor at the University of Florida.
The product of that research—Tough Choices: Shaping Florida’s Future—proved timely to a state teetering on the brink of major economic problems. "We took a comprehensive, unbiased approach toward looking at Florida's spending and revenue trends and compared them to other southern states," she says. "We recognized that even though the state was enjoying the products of rising housing prices in 2005, the situation would not continue and Florida policymakers were going to have to make difficult decisions due to conflicts between revenue spending and the growing demands of Florida’s residents."
Weissert has since succeeded Jim Apthorp at the institute and has been a key component in sustaining a healthy partnership between the university and the Jessie Ball duPont Fund. In fact, she helped bring in two more grants from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund—one for an update to the first grant in 2005 and, most recently, a $225,000 grant to increase research and collaboration between local and state governments in regard to the state's tax and spending policies. Given Florida's current economic condition, Weissert's research is of paramount importance.
"It is imperative that local and state officials are presented with the most relevant economic research available—helping to ensure that policies are created to prevent economic crises like this," emphasizes T.K. Wetherell, president of The Florida State University.
In addition to her research, Weissert teaches undergraduate and graduate political science students and provides them opportunities for practical and applied research. Through the LeRoy Collins Institute, students are able to get a jumpstart in their research careers.
"These students have the opportunity to gain practical research experience across multiple disciplines," Weissert says. "I think that the research component is important. It affects the quality of education for these students by applying what they learn in the classroom to their future research and employment."
To learn more about Dr. Carol Weissert’s research or the LeRoy Collins Institute, please visit http://collinsinstitute.fsu.edu.