Reckhow joined
Michigan State University (MSU) as an assistant professor in the department of political science in 2009. She was promoted to associate professor in 2017 and became a full professor in 2023. At MSU, she also served as the director of graduate studies in the department of political science from 2019 to 2023. During the 2018 to 2019 academic year, she was a fellow at the
Harvard Radcliffe Institute. While there, she began work on her book,
Governing Without Government, which examines the weakening of local governmental structures and the increasing reliance on philanthropic and nonprofit entities in urban governance. Reckhow has received multiple research grants, including funding from the
Institute of Education Sciences, the
Spencer Foundation, and the W.T. Grant Foundation, for studies focusing on education policy and philanthropy's role in shaping
public policy discourse. == Personal life ==