Shareen Hertel

Shareen Hertel is the Wiktor Osiatyński Chair of Human Rights and Professor of Political Science at the University of Connecticut, with a joint appointment in the Department of Political Science and the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute. She holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University (2003). Her research focuses on transnational human rights advocacy, particularly labor and economic rights, with fieldwork in Mexico, Bangladesh, India, and multilateral trade arenas. She edits The Journal of Human Rights and co-edits the Routledge International Studies Intensives series.

Her teaching spans comparative human rights, globalization, and human rights in global supply chains. Notable publications include Tethered Fates: Companies, Communities, and Rights at Stake (Oxford, 2019) and Rights at Stake and the COVID-19 Pandemic (Routledge, 2023). She leads initiatives like UConn’s Economic & Social Rights Program and the Engineering for Human Rights Initiative. Current research explores human rights due diligence, sustainable development, and the intersection of engineering ethics with human rights.

Professional roles include editorial board memberships for Human Rights Review and Human Rights and Human Welfare, and leadership in the Connecticut/Baden-Württemberg Human Rights Research Consortium. Her work bridges academia and practice, advising NGOs, foundations, and UN agencies globally.