ZOE C. WALKER, Ph.D.
Welcome! I am an Assistant Professor of Race and Ethnic politics in the department of Political Science at the University of Rochester.
I study how race, inequality, and faith in the American Dream shape Americans’ views on opportunity, fairness, and public policy.
My book project, American Dreams, Racial Realities, explores Black public opinion about access to opportunity and progress towards racial equality.
My work has appeared in the Journal of Race, Ethnicity and Politics, RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, and The American Journal of Public Health.
My research has received funding from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, the American Political Science Association, and the Russell Sage Foundation.
I received my Ph.D. in political science from the University of Michigan in 2025 and my B.A. in political science and English from the University of Notre Dame in 2019.
