Director, Survey Center on American Life
Daniel A. Cox is the director of the Survey Center on American Life and a senior fellow in polling and public opinion at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Under his leadership, the center is focused on public opinion and survey research on a variety of topics, including the emerging gender divide among young adults, dating and relationships, and social connection. Before joining AEI, he was the research director at PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute), which he cofounded and where he led the organization’s qualitative and quantitative research program.
Dr. Cox is currently writing Uncoupled (Penguin Random House), a book exploring the increasingly complex relationships between young men and women and the decline of dating and long-term partnerships. Drawing on extensive surveys and qualitative interviews among young adults, this book will examine the challenges of modern masculinity, the growing education gap, and the impact of social media in an era of diminished personal connection and rising mistrust. The book also considers how young people’s approach to relationships is changing in the face of deepening disconnection and heightened fears around safety after #MeToo.
The work of Dr. Cox is regularly featured in the popular press, including in the New York Times, The Atlantic, CNN, and the Washington Post. He is a contributor to FiveThirtyEight and Insider.
Dr. Cox holds a PhD and an MA in American government from Georgetown University, where he focused on public opinion, political behavior, and religion and politics.
Experience
- American University: Fellow, 2019–present
- Business Insider: Contributor, 2019–present
- College Pulse: Research Adviser, 2018–present
- FiveThirtyEight: Contributor, 2016–present
- PRRI: Cofounder; Research Director, 2009–18
- Pew Research Center: Research Associate, 2007–08
Education
PhD, MA, American government, Georgetown University
BA, political science, Union College