Biography
I am an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota. Prior to joining the University of Minnesota, I earned my PhD in Political Science from Vanderbilt University in 2023.
My research interests include the federal workforce, civil service laws, administrative law, executive-branch politics, and quantitative methods. My research has appeared in peer-reviewed publications and law reviews, including the American Political Science Review, Political Science Research and Methods, and Stanford Law Review. I regularly write for Lawfare on issues related to the federal workforce.
My research agenda focuses on the development of administrative capacity within federal agencies and, specifically, the growth and decline of their workforces. By administrative capacity, I mean the personnel, resources, and budgets needed to fulfill the agency’s mission and implement the laws enacted by Congress. Combining my expertise regarding administrative law with theories and methods from political science, my research addresses two questions: First, when do elected officials have sufficient incentives to build capacity within the administrative state? Second, what consequences does a lack of capacity have for the implementation of the law, policy, and programs enacted by Congress? My current work explores these context of civil service laws, examining how presidents use their discretion to shape the federal workforce.
I graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BA in Political Science and History in 2012. While earning my BA, I also earned a Certificate in Irish Politics from University College Cork. I earned my JD, magna cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2016, where I was awarded the William B. Lockhart Award for Excellence in Scholarship, Leadership, and Service. Following law school, I clerked for Judge Tracy Smith of the Minnesota Court of Appeals and Chief Judge John R. Tunheim of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
When I am not cleaning data or running regressions, I bike, hike, play board games, and maintain reef aquariums.
Contact
E-Mail: nbednar@umn.edu
Bluesky: @nicholasbednar.bsky.social‬
Twitter: @NicholasBednar
