Michael Ashley Stein

Professor Michael Ashley Stein is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, and a Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School since 2005. Considered one of the world’s leading experts on disability law and policy, Dr. Stein participated in the drafting of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; works with disabled peoples’ organizations and non-governmental organizations around the world; actively consults with governments on their disability laws and policies; advises an array of UN bodies and national human rights institutions; and has brought landmark disability rights litigation globally. Professor Stein has received numerous awards in recognition of his transformative work, including the National Order of Merit (Ecuador), the inaugural Morton E. Ruderman Prize for Inclusion; the inaugural Henry Viscardi Achievement Award; and the ABA Paul G. Hearne Award. His authoritative and path-breaking scholarship of 262 publications and 10 edited volumes have been published worldwide by leading journals and academic presses and has been supported by fellowships and awards from the American Council of Learned Societies, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation and Research, among others. Dr. Stein teaches at Harvard Law School, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and Harvard Extension School; holds an Extraordinary Professorship at the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights; and is a visiting professor at the Free University of Amsterdam’s Athena Institute. He earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School (where he became the first known person with a disability to be a member of the Harvard Law Review), and a Ph.D. from Cambridge University (full tuition plus stipend via a W.M. Tapp Studentship). Professor Stein previously was Professor (and Cabell Professor) at William & Mary Law School, and taught at New York University School of Law and Stanford Law School. He was appointed by President Obama to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.