Lindsey Hendren successfully defended her dissertation “Changing Environment. Changing Attitudes?” on April 5th, 2021. The dissertation examined various facets of public opinion on the environment identifying times in which opinion change would be likely. Among the first to test thermostatic responsiveness at the individual level, she finds a thermostatic responsive public on matters of the environment. Hendren observes external shocks such as Hurricane Harvey and exogenous factors (weather) using rigorous meteorological measurements finding that these factors are unable to overcome the strength of partisanship in shaping public opinion on global climate change. The committee members were Robert Oldendick (chair, professor of political science), David Darmofal (associate professor of political science), Kirby Goidel (professor of political science at Texas A&M), and Neal Woods (professor of political science). 

Lindsey has accepted a research associate position at the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles (Study LA) at Loyola Marymount University where her research will serve as a bellwether for regional decision-makers seeking insight into the region, its leadership, and its people.