Assistant Professor, Political Science
Director, Institute for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement

Email

Preferred: garrick.percival@sjsu.edu

Telephone

Preferred: (408) 924-5553

Office Hours

Monday and Wednesday 1:30-3pm and by appointment

Education

• Ph.D. University of California, Riverside, 2005.
• Master of Arts, Political Science, San Diego State University, 2000
• Bachelor of Arts, Social Science (with honors), San Diego State University, California, United States, 1998

Bio

I am currently an Assistant Professor of Political Science and the Director of the Institute for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement at San Jose State University.  I joined the department in 2012 after teaching several years at the University of Minnesota--Duluth.  I earned my PhD in political science from the University of California, Riverside in 2005.   

My research focuses on American politics and policy, primarily the nexus  between crime policy, racial politics, and inequality at the state and local levels of government.  My new book, Smart on Crime: The Struggle to Build a Better American Penal System, will be published in spring 2015 (Taylor and Francis Press).  The book examines the changing nature of crime politics in the U.S. and the movement to shrink the U.S. prisoner population after four decades of "tough on crime" politics and policy.  My work has been published in Social Science Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, State Politics and Policy Quarterly , and the Policy Studies Journal among other outlets.