Craig Volden is a professor of public policy and politics, with appointments in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the Department of Politics. He studies legislative politics and the interaction among political institutions, including within American federalism. 

Before joining the Batten School, Professor Volden taught at the Ohio State University, the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, and Claremont Graduate University. His most recent book, Legislative Effectiveness in the United States Congress: The Lawmakers (winner of the 2015 Fenno Prize and the 2015 Gladys M. Kammerer Award), co-authored with Alan Wiseman, explores the effectiveness of individual members of Congress in overcoming policy gridlock. His most prominent work on issues of federalism focuses on why some policies diffuse across states and localities while others do not. He has published numerous articles in such journals as: American Political Science Review; American Journal of Political Science; Journal of Politics; Legislative Studies Quarterly; Public Administration Review; Journal of Public Policy; and Publius: The Journal of Federalism.

His current projects include studies of innovation and policy diffusion across states and localities, and an analysis of the legislative effectiveness of individual members of Congress. He is Co-director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking (thelawmakers.org).