Michelle Belco
is an attorney and senior lecturer in the Honors College at the University of Houston
Her research explores the president's use of executive orders, proclamations, memorandum and regulatory policy.
Dr. Belco is an instructor of political science in the Honors College at the University of Houston.
She teaches courses on the United States and Texas institutions and American Political Institutions. Her teaching has extended to topics that include, Immigration Policy in the United States, Health Policy and Administration, and The Politics of Energy and the Environment. She will be teaching a course on AI Policy, Governance and Law in Spring 2027.
Dr. Belco’s interdisciplinary approach to education stems from her circuitous academic journey through the fields of art, engineering, and law, to political science. She is a dedicated mentor and thesis advisor for Honors students. She also works with pre-law students to foster the next generation of law students.
Her research focuses on presidents and their use of executive directives to create administrative policy and how they are implemented by the executive branch. Her extensive research on the presidency has been published in academic journals, encyclopedias and as book chapters. Her book, , The Dual Executive: Unilateral Power in a Separated and Shared System (2017) analyzes how presidents use directives as commander and clerk. Her forthcoming book, The Administrative Presidency: Presidential Directives and Executive Policymaking delves into how presidents use directives to shape policy administratively.
Professional Experience & Education
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Senior Lecturer, Houston, Texas: University of Houston, Honors College. 2016-Present
Lecturer, Houston, Texas: University of Houston Department of Political Science and Honors College. 2013-2016
Teaching and Research Assistant, Houston, Texas: University of Houston Department of Political Science, 2008-2013
Teaching Adjunct, University of Houston Downtown, Department of Political Science, 2012-2013
Teaching Adjunct, Lone Star College, Department of History and Social Sciences, 2010-2012
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Ph.D. University of Houston, May 2013
Fields of Study: American Institutions, Presidency, Public Policy
Dissertation Title: Unilateral Orders and the Legislative Process
M.A., University of Houston (Political Science), 2010
Doctor of Jurisprudence, South Texas College of Law, 1996, Licensed in Texas, 1997 to present
Post-Graduate Study, Pennsylvania State University (Fine Arts and Art History), 1975
B.S., Western Michigan University (Industrial Engineering and Fine Arts), 1973
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Belco & Associates, P.C., Houston, Texas: Environmental and administrative law practice; developed environmental compliance and enforcement training program for District and County Attorneys, County Judges, Civil and Criminal Court Judges, and Enforcement Officers.
Regional Director, Pacific West, Inc., Houston, Texas and Salt Lake City, Utah: Worked with state transportation and environmental agencies throughout the U.S. analyzing and developing laws and regulations to support this national company’s industrial market
Environmental Manager, Southern Pacific Railroad, Houston, Texas: Managed environmental compliance for the railroad’s fixed and operating facilities throughout the U.S; hazardous materials responder and mitigation specialist; prepared interrogatories and questions for depositions for environmental litigation
Environmental Specialist, Brown & Root U.S.A., Houston, Texas: Monitored and interpreted federal and state regulations for multiple industrial sectors and served as liaison with governmental agencies throughout the U.S.; prepared environmental documents permits, and compliance plans
Environmental Manager, Houston Transit Consultants, Houston, Texas: Managed environmental documentation, contracts, community planning, public hearings, and agency liaison, for proposed $2 billion mass transit program
Project Manager, DeLeuw, Cather & Company, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco: Environmental and cultural resource planner and consultant for major transportation and development projects throughout the U.S.
Assistant Executive Director, Commission for Historic & Architectural Preservation, Baltimore, Maryland: Specialized in the rehabilitation and preservation of the city’s historic architectural resources; prepared documentation for the transfer of U.S. post office from the General Services Administration; federal grants manager; legislative analyst and liaison with the Maryland General Assembly
Special Assistant to the President of the City Council, Baltimore, Maryland: Responsible for developing community arts programs and art exhibitions
Publications
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Belco, Michelle, “The Meaning and Diversity of Citizenship,” and “Providing Public Goods: Alternative Policy Approaches,” Chapters in The People and American Government, Volume II. 2019, New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Incorporated
Belco, Michelle and Brandon Rottinghaus, The Dual Executive: Unilateral Orders in a Separated and Shared Power System, 2017, Stanford University Press.
Belco, Michelle, “Presidential Unilateral Orders: Policymaking Tool,” 2015, Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Policy
Belco, Michelle, “Presidential Policymaking: Discretion and the Execution of Law,” 2015, Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Policy
Belco, Michelle and Brandon Rottinghaus, “In Lieu of Legislation: Executive Unilateral Preemption or Support During the Legislative Process,” Political Research Quarterly, Volume 67, No. 2, June 2014, 413-425
Belco, Michelle and Brandon Rottinghaus, “Presidential Proclamation 6920: Using Executive Power to Set a New Direction for the Management of National Monuments,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, Volume 39, No. 3, September 2009, 605-618
Belco, Michelle, “Teaching the Presidency: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Election,” Presidents & Executive Politics (PEP) Report, Section of the American Political Science Association, Fall 2012
Belco, Michelle and Elizabeth Rigby, “Providing Public Goods: Alternative Policy Approaches,” Chapter in The People and American Government, Volume II. 2009, New York: Pearson Custom Publishing
Belco, Michelle and Elizabeth Rigby, “Providing Public Goods: Alternative Policy Approaches,” Chapter in American Democracy Now (4th Ed), New York: McGraw Hill Custom E-Book Publishing, 2015.
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Congress & the Presidency 2022, 49(3): 386-387. Bolton, Alexander, and Sharece Thrower. 2022. Checks in the Balance: Legislative Capacity and the Dynamics of Executive Power. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
The New England Journal of Political Science IX (1): Spring 2016, Pitiful Giants: Presidents in Their Final Terms by Daniel P. Franklin. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
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The Logic of American Politics 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022 by Samuel Kernell, Gary C. Jacobson, Thad Kousser and Lynn Vavreck, Congress Quarterly Press.
Immigration in the Court of Public Opinion, 2022, by Jack Citrin, Morris Levy, and Matthew Wright for Polity.
Inside Texas Politics: Politics, Policy, and Power, 2016, by Brandon Rottinghaus for Oxford University Press’ Higher Education Group.
Public Policy, 2016, by Michael Mintrom for Oxford University Press’ Higher Education Group.
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Invited panelist by the Reagan Presidential Library as part of their Presidential Leadership Symposium to speak on the Presidential Transition in the First 100 Days at the UVA Miller Center, July 2023.
Georgia Public Radio On Second Thought: Break It Down: Executive Orders by Celeste Headlee & Sean Powers May 1, 2017 http://gpbnews.org/post/break-it-down-executive-orders
Bloomberg Law Biden Climate Promises Bump Against Bureaucracy’s Grinding Gears
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The Administrative Presidency: Executive Policymaking for African Americans, Book Contract with Palgrave Macmillan
Acting Alone in the First 100 Days: Presidents Nixon to Biden (Journal Article)
The Upper Hand: Congressional Response to Executive Orders Journal Article)
Honors and Affiliations
Honors & Awards
Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society
Omicron Delta Kappa Causa Member
Honors College Matthew B. and Tamara Steele Teaching Excellence Award 2017
Honors College Wong Faculty Engagement Award 2019
Honors College Wong Faculty Engagement Award 2021
Elizabeth D. Rockwell Center for Ethics and Leadership, Lecture and Residency Program Grant, UH Hobby School of Public Affairs, Houston, Texas 2022
Lerner Family Faculty Fellowship, 2023
Committees & Membership
United States Supreme Court Bar
State Bar of Texas
American Bar Association, Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice
Texas State Bar Association, Administrative Law
American Political Science Association
Midwest Political Science Association
Southern Political Science Association
Association of Centers for the Study of Congress