Jon D. Schaff specializes in the study of American political thought and institutions. He has published on the presidency and political thought of Abraham Lincoln, politics and literature, and politics and popular culture. He has been a department Chair, faculty athletic representative, and Chair of the NSU Promotion and Tenure committee. In 2005 he received the Outstanding Faculty Award from NSU.

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Professor Schaff earned his B.A. from St John's University in Minnesota, his M.A. from the University of Wyoming and his Ph.D from Loyola University Chicago. He has been teaching at Northern State University since 2001. He lives in Aberdeen with his wife and four children.