Directory

More than anything, the Kinder Institute is a vibrant, diverse community of scholars who share not only an academic interest in rigorously unpacking the complex history of constitutional democracy in the U.S. and around the globe but also a commitment to collective inquiry. Both in the classroom and beyond it, our undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty learn both alongside and from one another, and they do so with the kind of civility and interdisciplinary curiosity that is essential to generating innovative scholarship and engaging in productive discourse.

You can contact the Kinder Institute front desk with questions at, (573) 882-3330. For questions specifically regarding undergraduate programs, contact Dr. Thomas Kane, Director of Undergraduate Studies, at KaneTC@missouri.edu.

Use the tabs below to meet the people who make up the Kinder Institute.

Brendon Floyd

Brendon Floyd

Graduate Fellows,

Haskell Monroe Graduate Fellow in Civil War Era History, bgfloyd@mail.missouri.edu
Brendon Floyd holds a B.A. in History and an M.Ed. in Secondary Education from Johnson State College, as well as an M.A. in History from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He is now a Ph.D. student in History at University of Missouri, working under Jay Sexton as the Haskell Monroe Graduate Fellow in Civil War Era History. His research interests lay in Irish and Irish-American radicalism and identity in the Early American Republic.

Zach Lang

Zach Lang

Graduate Fellows,

Kinder Institute Ph.D. Fellow in Political Science, zplbd7@mail.missouri.edu
Zach Lang earned his B.A. in Government from St. Lawrence University and is currently a Ph.D. student in Political Science at the Truman School of Government and Public Affairs at MU. His research areas are American Politics and Public Policy, specifically, federalism. His dissertation examines the rise in multi-state lawsuits against the federal government in recent decades. He will address what factors influence when states lead or participate in litigation against the federal government across different courts, policy areas, and presidential administrations, particularly the role of attorney’s general and solicitor’s general in this development. In his spare time, he enjoys running, hiking, kayaking, film, gaming, Dungeons and Dragons.

Mackenzie Tor

Mackenzie Tor

Graduate Fellows,

M.A. Fellow in Political History, mltmq5@missouri.edu
Mackenzie Tor received her B.A. in History & Italian from Providence College and is currently completing her M.A. in History with Dr. Jeff Pasley. Her research interests include early American social and cultural history, and her thesis will examine segregation in the antebellum temperance movement. When not hard at work, Mackenzie enjoys reading, practicing yoga, and cheering on her favorite Boston sports teams. She joins the Kinder Institute as a Fall 2019 M.A. Fellow in History.