School of Public Policy Instructor Mary Follo teaches applied and actionable knowledge to help students better navigate the political process
Mary Follo | Credit: Natalia Bueno
By Jessica Krueger, CLA Student Writer - May 7, 2026
Interested in learning about how the government works? Want to make a real difference in your community? Consider taking a class with Mary Follo, a new instructor in the School of Public Policy, who teaches American political science and public policy.
“It’s important to me that students leave with actionable knowledge,” Follo said. In her classes, students learn how to write policy memos and to present their ideas in a clear and composed way, often through debates. “At the end of the day, I want my students to be comfortable and confident speaking to others about politics,” Follo said.
“Students should major in public policy and political science because they are the foundations of everything we do,” continued Follo . “Government regulation impacts us on a daily basis. It's important to understand that, and to understand laws and voting. If you go into policy, there are so many amazing opportunities to make lasting changes for yourself and the general public.”
Follo teaches Public Administration (PPOL 372), State and Local Politics (PS 331), Congressional Politics (PS 311), United States Government and Politics (PS 201), as well as electives on housing policy and public policy research methods. Her favorite part of teaching, Follo said, has been to witness students as they have light bulb moments, as they make interesting connections or come to understand complex concepts.
Follo joined the School of Public Policy as an instructor in the fall of 2025 after completing her Ph.D. in political science at the University of Oregon. As a doctoral student, Follo held graduate research and teaching positions while contributing to ongoing academic and public conversations about housing policy.
Her dissertation, titled “The Politics of Placement: State Preemption of Housing Policy,” looks at how cities’ implementation (or lack there-of) of state-mandated zoning laws varies depending on a city’s size and location. Focusing her study on four cities in Oregon: Eugene, Lebanon, Baker City, and Portland, Follo explained that, when scholars try to make sense of housing policy and different perceptions of it, they often point to the urban-rural divide. In her study, however, it was actually the size of a city that mattered most, rather than its location.
Follo hopes that her research will lead to more nuanced outcomes in housing policy. “We need to increase resources or have some kind of steps so that smaller and medium size cities aren't just forced into zoning changes that they don't have the infrastructure for,” Follo said.
When preemption occurs (that is, when the state overrides local-level policy) housing prices can increase, which negatively impacts people’s ability to rent or purchase an apartment or home.
Prior to studying political science and housing policy at UO, Follo completed a Master of Public Policy at University of California , Irvine. After enjoying a class on land-use policy, Follo decided to focus her research on that. It helped that, having grown up in southern California where there are a lot of issues regarding land use, she was relatively familiar with the subject already. Follo completed her undergraduate degree at UC Irvine as well, graduating in 2014 with a double major in criminology and psychology.
Follo decided she wanted to pursue public policy research after interning for Orange County’s Board of Supervisors. During this experience, Follo realized she enjoyed studying politics more than she wanted to become an actual politician. “Ideally, policy is always improved, but that is not always how it works out,” Follo said. “I noticed during my internship that by the time a policy would make it through the policy cycle, it often had undergone drastic changes. I am interested in how we can overcome changes to policies—how we can take great policies and get them all the way through the policy cycle.”
In her spare time, Follo enjoys baking, beading, running, and reading. Her favorite book is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. “It’s always relevant,” Follo said. “People are always dealing with the same problems.” Follo also recommends The Running Ground: A Father, a Son, and the Simplest of Sports, a memoir by Nicholas Thompson that reflects on the author’s relationship with his father and the joys of running.
Follo, who has been running since she was in high school, appreciates the sport’s capacities to relieve stress and build community. Like many in the Corvallis area, she enjoys hiking and trail running in the McDonald-Dunn Research forest and in the Alsea Falls and Marys Peak wilderness areas.