Scott Gac is an author, historian, teacher, and dedicated triathlete. A first-generation scholar and one-time Pell Grant recipient, he comes from an immigrant family and is proud to be the son, grandson, nephew, and brother-in-law of U.S. military veterans.
Scott is currently a Professor of History and American Studies at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. As Director of Trinity’s undergraduate and graduate programs in American Studies from 2013 to 2023, he led curriculum development, lectures, working groups, and public outreach, helping to strengthen one of the nation’s most respected liberal arts programs in the field.
His recent scholarship focuses on American violence, with work published in Choice, Rethinking History, and Reviews in American History. His latest book, Born in Blood: Violence and the Making of America (Cambridge University Press, 2024), expands on his popular lecture course, tracing the deep connections between race, slavery, and Indigenous dispossession in 19th-century American politics and culture. His first book, Singing for Freedom (Yale Press, 2007), explores interracial social activism in the pre-Civil War era through the abolitionist musicians, the Hutchinson Family Singers—a story brought to life in a 2015 performance series by the Rose Ensemble in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Scott holds degrees from Columbia University, The Juilliard School (double bass), and The Graduate Center at CUNY.
For more than 20 years, Scott has been a passionate and accomplished long-distance amateur triathlete. He placed third overall at the 2007 Great Floridian iron-distance race and has competed at national and world championships, including the ITU Long Distance World Championships (2005, 2006, 2007) and the Ironman World Championship (2009).
Ranked consistently in the top three percent of his age group worldwide, he thrives on the discipline of training and the challenges of racing—though he’s no stranger to tough days on the course. Throughout his athletic journey, he has had the privilege of working with top coaches and training groups, including Doug Stern, Bob Glover, Don Fink, QT2 Systems, and Purple Patch Fitness.
Originally from Long Island, Scott now lives in Glastonbury, Connecticut, with his wife, Jill, step kids, Dane, Reece, and Adrian, and their cat, Greyson.