Daniel Moak

Daniel Moak is an Associate Professor of Government at Connecticut College, where he has taught since 2022. His research and teaching focus on American politics, race and ethnic politics, public policy, and constitutional law. Moak’s work critically examines the intersection of race, social policy, and the evolution of the punitive education state in the United States.

• Education: B.A., Willamette University; M.A. and Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

Moak’s research explores how social policy developments have shaped group incorporation, citizenship experiences, and democratic conceptualization. His first book, From the New Deal to the War on Schools, analyzes the shift from redistributive policies to market-based educational reforms like No Child Left Behind. His current project on Thurgood Marshall investigates the legal and political consolidation of the Civil Rights Movement’s vision of racial equality.

His publications, including articles in the Journal of Policy History and Social Science Quarterly, trace the historical roots of the school-to-prison pipeline and the role of race in structuring civic opportunity. Moak previously served as an Assistant Professor of African American Studies at Ohio University and continues to mentor students in critical policy analysis and interdisciplinary research.