Peter J. Hammer

Peter J. Hammer is a Professor of Law and A. Alfred Taubman Endowed Chair at Wayne State University Law School, where he has taught since 2003. He serves as Faculty Director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights, focusing on civil rights empowerment and urban equity. Educated at Gonzaga University (B.A./B.S.), and the University of Michigan (J.D./Ph.D. in economics), he previously held a faculty position at the University of Michigan Law School. His research spans health law, international development, and human rights, with a focus on Cambodia and Detroit.

He has authored/co-edited books including Crusader for Justice: Federal Judge Damon J. Keith (2013) and No Equal Justice: The Legacy of George W. Crockett Jr. (2022). His scholarship addresses global health systems, World Bank policies, and structural racism in urban contexts. He has received awards such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Investigator Award in Health Policy Research.

Community involvement includes board roles with the ACLU of Michigan and Cambodia-focused organizations like Legal Aid of Cambodia. His courses address race, law, and social change in Detroit, and international health policy. Recent work critiques systemic racism in housing, water equity, and urban governance.