Mark Hurwitz

Mark Hurwitz is a Professor of Political Science at Western Michigan University (WMU) and the Executive Director of the Southern Political Science Association (SPSA). He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Michigan State University and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School. His research focuses on judicial behavior, American politics, and civil liberties, with notable projects analyzing court cases involving Indigenous Peoples and Nations. Previously, he served as a Program Officer at the National Science Foundation (NSF), managing initiatives in cyberinfrastructure and law and science. He has led the WMU/Cooley Law School Innocence Project, funded by the National Institute of Justice, to exonerate wrongfully convicted individuals.

• Education: Ph.D., Political Science (Michigan State University); J.D. (Brooklyn Law School)
• Professional Roles: Editor-in-Chief of Justice System Journal; Director of Special Initiatives at WMU's Office of Research and Innovation

His research has been published in leading journals such as the American Political Science Review, Journal of Politics, and Political Research Quarterly. He has held faculty positions at the University at Buffalo (SUNY) and the University of Utah, and practiced law in New York City before pursuing academia.

Current grants include an NSF-funded project examining Indigenous Peoples' cases in U.S. courts (collaboration with University of Texas at El Paso). His work emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration and advancing justice through policy and legal analysis.