He holds a B.A. (summa cum laude) from Carleton College, and his M.A., rabbinic ordination, and Ph.D. from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Prior to joining the Elon faculty, he taught at Oberlin College and served as a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia. Dr. Claussen’s research focuses on the nineteenth-century Musar movement, a pietistic movement which sought to place concerns with moral character at the center of Jewish thought and practice. His recent articles include: