Tiffani Hurst joined the Kline Undergraduate Law program in 2025, bringing more than three decades of experience as a legal practitioner, educator, and scholar, with work spanning criminal defense, wrongful convictions, and community-engaged research. After graduating from the University of Chicago Law School, and before joining Drexel, Dr. Hurst spent many years as a federal defender and capital habeas supervisor, litigating complex post-conviction cases in multiple jurisdictions. Her work includes notable appellate and habeas victories addressing actual innocence, ineffective assistance of counsel, and unconstitutional death penalty practices. In addition to her legal practice, Professor Hurst has a background in teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including prior appointments at Elms College and Springfield College. She has taught courses in employment law, family law, criminal justice, race and law, and diversity-focused curricula, bringing real-world legal experience into the classroom.

Dr. Hurst particularly enjoys teaching courses at Kline that allow students to experience law as it operates in the real world and to examine its human impact. Through Law Lab (LAW 102), she values giving students direct exposure to courts, legal institutions, and legal professionals, helping them connect doctrine to lived practice. As one student expressed, “Dr. Hurst is an amazing professor with an inspiring story and I personally believe the best person to teach a course like this. I was exposed to multiple types of law I wasn’t aware of, experienced opportunities I would’ve never had, and overall 100% would recommend this class.”

Dr. Hurst’s Winter 2026 course “Wrongful Convictions” draws on her wealth of professional experience and reflects her deep commitment to examining how legal error, race, disability, and structural inequities intersect, while also centering questions of accountability and repair. She also enjoys teaching topics where students are encouraged to analyze how law shapes identity, access, and power, and to engage thoughtfully with contemporary legal and social debates. Across these courses, Dr. Hurst emphasizes critical thinking, reflection, and respectful dialogue, creating learning environments where students can grapple with complex issues while developing their own informed perspectives on law and justice.

Dr. Hurst is also an active scholar engaged in critical participatory action research, community-based research partnerships, and interdisciplinary work at the intersection of law, education, and social justice. She regularly presents at national conferences, including the American Educational Research Association, and collaborates with intergenerational community members, students, and faculty on holding community dialogues to improve relationships.