Rabbi Ellenson was ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1977 and is the eighth President in the College-Institute’s 130-yearlong history.  Rabbi Ellenson is a distinguished rabbi and scholar, dedicated teacher, and committed leader of the Reform Movement.

Rabbi Ellenson received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1981 and holds M.A. degrees from Columbia University, HUC-JIR, and the University of Virginia.  He received his B.A. degree from the College of William and Mary in Virginia in 1969. 

Among his many academic and scholarly associations, Rabbi Ellenson is a Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute of Jerusalem and a Fellow and Lecturer in the Institute of Advanced Studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.  Rabbi Ellenson has published and lectured extensively on diverse topics in modern Jewish history, ethics, and thought.  He has written over 150 articles and reviews in diverse academic and religious journals and books; his academic lectures have been delivered at such institutions as Charles University in Prague, Ben Gurion and Bar Ilan Universities in Israel, Haverford College, Harvard University, Yale University, Brown University, and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, Rabbi Ellenson was raised in Newport News, Virginia. Rabbi Ellenson has been an Associate Member of the Board of Governors since February 2003.