Barry Tadlock is Associate Professor in Ohio University’s Department of Political Science. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky (1995), his M.A. from the University of Virginia (1987), and his B.A. from Emory & Henry College (1984). Currently at OU he teaches undergraduate courses in American national government, legislative processes, and the presidency, and a graduate seminar on executive and legislative politics.

One research interest concerns the impact of welfare reform in Appalachian Ohio. He has worked on this topic in conjunction with Dr. Tickamyer and Dr. Henderson of OU’s Sociology Department and his Political Science colleague Dr. White. With funding from the Joyce Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Ohio State Legal Services Association, the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati, and OU’s Voinovich Center, this research group assessed the impact of changes in the welfare system that began in 1996. Their research has appeared in the journal Affilia and in edited volumes published by the W.E. Upjohn Institute and by Ohio University Press.

As part of his work in the area of welfare policy, he spent four years as project manager of the Rural Welfare Reform Project, headquartered at OU's Voinovich Center. As part of his duties he served as the lead researcher with respect to the role played by county commissioners in Ohio’s system of welfare.

Dr. Tadlock’s other research interest is in the area of identity politics. Along with Ellen Riggle of the University of Kentucky, he co-edited Gays and Lesbians in the Democratic Process: Public Policy, Public Opinion, and Political Representation (Columbia University Press, 1999).

He has worked with his OU Political Science former colleague Dr. Ann Gordon on additional research in this area. Specifically they have researched the stereotypes invoked by media portrayals of lesbian and gay candidates, and the effect those stereotypes have on candidate choice. Also, they have researched how interest groups frame the issue of same-sex marriage, the extent to which the media utilize those frames, and the impact of the frames on public opinion.