He holds a master’s degree in Jewish-Christian studies from Seton Hall University and has taught a wide variety of humanities courses, including composition, journalism, technical writing, American and world literature, religious studies, ethics and philosophy. His dissertation explored how anthologies of American literature construct historical origin stories about the United States, and he has published articles on Harriet Beecher Stowe’s meeting with Abraham Lincoln, Briton Hammon’s Narrative, the Transcendentalist publication The Dial, and Utopian Communities in Nineteenth Century America. Before he entered academia, Dr. Vollaro worked as a journalist, a freelance writer, and an editor in publishing. He is a member of the Thoreau Society and serves on the boards of the digital journal Notes on Teaching English and the literacy organization Read Aloud Chattanooga.