Jordan Carr Peterson joined the department as an assistant professor in fall 2023 after previous positions at Texas Christian University, North Carolina State University, and the Jacksonville University Public Policy Institute. He completed his PhD in political science at the University of Southern California, and his JD at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

Peterson’s research examines the operation of public authority in lawmaking institutions, and in particular focuses on the scope and nature of legislative, regulatory, and judicial institutions to structure organizational practices and individual conduct in the American state. Additionally, his work considers policy-making at the complex intersection of business and politics, including economic conflicts of interest in American public life.

His scholarship has been published in journals including the Journal of Politics, Political Research Quarterly, Legislative Studies Quarterly, American Politics Research, the Journal of Legal Studies, the Journal of Law & Courts, State Politics & Policy Quarterly, the Journal of Historical Political Economy, and Law & Policy. 

Peterson has been commended with awards recognizing the Best Article Published in Political Research Quarterly in 2020 and the Cynthia Weber Best Paper Award by the APSA Sexuality & Politics section in 2022. He teaches courses on public law at UT, including administrative law, regulatory policy, criminal law, criminal procedure, and government powers.