Mark is currently the Director of the UT Tyler Center for Opinion Research. His scholarship examines how the public respond to institutions and how institutions operate. He helps direct the UT Tyler Poll, is the Book Reviews Editor for Public Opinion Quarterly, and serves on the Advisory Board of UT Tyler Radio (KVUT 99.7FM)

He is an author of Battle for the Heart of Texas: Change in the Electorate (2022). His analysis on how Texas is changing politically has been cited by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, FiveThirtyEight, The New York Times, Austin American-Statesman, Dallas Morning News, Texas Monthly, Texas Tribune and more.