Dave Claborn serves as Professor of Government in Howard Payne University’s Guy D. Newman Honors Academy and Department of History & Government. With approximately 25 years of teaching experience and service at HPU since 2017, Claborn brings a broad background in political science, public policy, political campaigns, law, and interdisciplinary learning to his work with students.
Claborn teaches a wide range of courses, including American Government, International Relations, Political Theory, State & Local Politics, American Political Organization, American Federal Institutions, World Regional Geography, Comparative Politics, Latin American Politics, and Model United Nations. He has also taught a special Perspectives course titled How Christians Talk Politics. Rather than specializing narrowly in a single topic, Claborn values the opportunity to work as a generalist and explore connections across political science, history, geography, religion, and public life.
One of the things Claborn values most about teaching at HPU is the university’s small student-to-professor ratio. Having studied at two large universities, he knew early in his career that he wanted to teach at a smaller college. At HPU, he often teaches the same students in multiple courses, allowing deeper academic relationships to develop over time. He also appreciates working with colleagues across many disciplines and enjoys the conversations that emerge when people with different areas of expertise engage the same questions.
Claborn is passionate about politics because he sees public life as a fundamental part of human cooperation. Drawing on Aristotle’s idea that human beings are “by nature political animals,” he believes people are naturally drawn to work together to address shared problems. Even frustration with politics, in his view, often reflects disappointment with how poorly society is cooperating rather than a true lack of interest in public life.
Claborn earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Texas and a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts. His scholarship includes work on political simulations, public attitudes, religious freedom, and the American court system. He has contributed to The Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court, published research in the Journal of Church and State, and written on the use of games and simulations in political science education.
His professional experiences extend beyond academia. Earlier in life, Claborn backpacked through Europe and spent several months at Francis Schaeffer’s L’Abri community in the Alps, where he combined manual work with reading and studying philosophy. He later worked on a major legal case involving Texas Instruments and has managed congressional election and reelection campaigns for candidates from both major political parties.
Outside of the classroom, Claborn enjoys reading, podcasts, woodworking, hiking, biking to work, C.S. Lewis, and discussing difficult issues with people who disagree with him. He is involved with First Methodist Church.
Claborn’s office is located in Academy Building 113. Through teaching, scholarship, discussion, and mentorship, he seeks to help students think carefully about politics, public life, faith, and the responsibilities of citizenship.
