Heidi M. Hurd

Heidi M. Hurd is the Ross and Helen Workman Chair in Law at the University of Illinois College of Law, where she also served as Dean from 2002-2007. Her academic career spans multiple institutions including the University of Pennsylvania Law School (Assistant to Full Professor), University of San Diego Law School (Herzog Research Professor), and numerous visiting appointments at Georgetown, Tel Aviv, and FGV Direito-Sao Paulo. She holds dual doctorates in Law and Philosophy.

• B.A. (Hon.) from Queen’s University (Canada)
• M.A. in Philosophy from Dalhousie University
• J.D. and Ph.D. in Philosophy from University of Southern California
• M.E.M. from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (2016-17)

Her research integrates criminal law, torts, environmental law, and moral philosophy with a distinctive focus on ethical foundations. Recent work examines consent theory, libertarian paternalism, and the moral dimensions of bankruptcy. She has pioneered interdisciplinary connections between environmental ethics and economic systems, challenging assumptions about ethical impotence in policy contexts. Her scholarship appears in top journals including Yale Law Journal and Stanford Law Review.

Hurd has delivered over 150 international lectures, including keynote addresses at the Max Planck Institute and the prestigious Alistair Macleod Distinguished Lecture at Queen’s University (2025). She has testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on criminal legislation and maintains active collaborations through the Academic Advisory Counsel at Torcuato di Tella University in Buenos Aires.