Kevin M. Leyden (Ph.D., Iowa 1992), is a Professor of Political Science and Director of West Virginia University’s Institute for Public Affairs and currently an invited Honorary Research Professor of Social Science & Public Policy at the Centre for Innovation and Structural Change (CISC). Professor Leyden’s teaching and research interests include social capital, public policy, public opinion, elections, interest groups, health policy, energy policy, land-use & transportation planning and issues of sustainable development. His research has been published in the American Journal of Public Health, Environmental Health Perspectives, The British Journal of Political Science, Political Research Quarterly, Legislative Studies Quarterly, American Politics Quarterly, American Journal of Health Promotion, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Presidential Studies Quarterly, and Policy Studies Journal, among others. His current research focuses primarily on the relationship between the community design, social capital, health, and climate change. He serves as a partner with the World Health Organization’s Large Analysis and Review of European Housing and Health Status (LARES), and is a Research Fellow with the Global Metropolitan Forum which is examining the quality of life in ten major international metropolises. In addition, he is currently completing an analysis of transportation planning as part of a research grant from the Irish Environmental Protection Agency. Other recent research grants include an analysis of over 69,000 residents affected by an environmental clean-up project in Parkersburg, West Virginia and an analysis of disaster evacuation plans for the Office of Homeland Security. Prof. Leyden’s Institute for Public Affairs promotes research focusing on public policy issues of concern to the State of West Virginia and the Appalachian region. The Institute also organizes statewide training conferences and educational workshops designed to assist West Virginia’s public officials in their efforts to address pressing public policy and governance issues. Most recently, Professor Leyden coordinated the Council of State Government’s Center for the Advancement of Leadership Skills (2009) which was attended by state-level executive, legislative and judicial officials from the entire South of the U.S.
Research Interests
-
Sustainable Community Design and Development
-
Urban Land-Use and Transportation Planning
-
Neighborhood/Community Design, Health & Climate Change
-
Interest Groups, Non-Profits, and Public Policy
-
Social Capital, Civic Engagement & Democracy
-
Social Entrepreneurship
-
Energy Policy
-
Health Policy
-
Environmental Policy & Politics Land Use Planning & Politics
-
The Causes & Consequences of Urban Sprawl
-
Public Opinion
-
Community and Economic Development
-
The Role of Political Parties in Elections & the Legislative Process
-
Representation, Accountability and Democratic Governance
-
Interest Groups, PAC Money, and Elections
-
Congressional, Presidential & Gubernatorial Elections
-
European Elections
-
Neighborhood Revitalization Policy Housing Policy
-
Quantitative Research Methods
Selected publications
