About the Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative

The Hubbell Gift

The Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative (HELI) is generating opportunities for the College of Law to deepen and broaden its engagement with environmental issues in Iowa and beyond.

HELI was created by the vision and generosity of Law Alumni Charlotte Beyer Hubbell (76JD) and Fred Hubbell (76JD) who committed the gift to establish this program. The gift, which is the largest in Iowa Law history, is intended to create an active forum for interdisciplinary engagement on important environmental issues, support law students and curriculum, and ultimately strengthen the environmental law bar in Iowa.

HELI's Strategic Focus Areas

The HELI team focuses on efforts and programs that build upon successes in the following areas:

Expanding and enriching

Academic Opportunities

with speakers, research, stipend grants, collaborations, and more.

Developing and producing

Outreach and Engagement

opportunities that increase dialogue and produce actionable solutions to environmental challenges.

Supporting students seeking

Professional Development

to remove barriers to success, gain experience, and grow career networks.

Exploring and expanding

Partnerships

to strengthen campus, community, and regional impact.

Supporting and Expanding Student Experiences

HELI supports experiential learning for Iowa Law students

Monday, May 6, 2024

Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative launches new field course at Iowa Law

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

This Fall, the Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative (HELI) launched the first environmental law field course at the University of Iowa, with the help and support of the University of Iowa Wildlife Instruction and Leadership Development (UI WILD) team and the UI College of Education.

HELI establishes Iowa Law’s first environmental moot court team

Friday, November 17, 2023

Continuing the legacy of environmental law

The History of Environmental Law at Iowa Law

Stay connected with HELI - join our mailing list!

Upcoming Events and Programming

The "Iowa Effect": Insurance and Climate Change with New York Times Reporter Christopher Flavelle

Friday, February 14, 2025 12:45pm to 1:45pm

Boyd Law Building

Join the Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative at the University of Iowa College of Law for a discussion with New York Times climate reporter Christopher Flavelle and Martin Grace, Professor of Finance at the Tippie College of Business about insurance markets in a changing climate. Christopher Flavelle has been writing about the impacts of climate change on insurance markets for years. In May of 2024, Christopher reported on a recent trend in insurance coverage, calling it the “Iowa effect,”...

"Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry" with Austin Frerick

Wednesday, February 26, 2025 12:45pm to 1:45pm

Boyd Law Building

Join agricultural and antitrust policy expert Austin Frerick, who will be at lowa Law to discuss his new book Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food Industry. Barons is the story of seven corporate titans in the food industry and their rise to power, with a lens on Iowa and the Midwest. Barons has received universal acclaim, including a coveted starred review from both Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, and has been named one of the “Best Books of 2024” by the latter. The...

Rising Temps, Rising Voices: 2025 Iowa Labor and Climate Conference

Saturday, April 12, 2025 9:00am to 3:00pm

Iowa Memorial Union (IMU)

The UI Labor Center and the Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative will host the 2025 Labor and Climate Conference on Saturday, April 12 at the Iowa Memorial Union, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. The topics of focus for this event are rising heat, public health, and worker safety. National speakers will be featured, as well as breakout sessions on topics including: How rising heat impacts Iowans health and safety; Local and state laws and national policy initiatives to mitigate the effect of heat...

The Making of Environmental Law in the United States with Richard J. Lazarus

Thursday, April 17, 2025 12:45pm to 1:45pm

Boyd Law Building

Join the Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative and the College of Law in welcoming Richard J. Lazarus, Charles Stebbins Fairchild Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, for a talk about The Making of U.S. Environmental Law - with a particular emphasis on the Midwest. More about the discussion: Richard J. Lazarus offers a new interpretation of the past three decades of this area of the law, examining the legal, political, cultural, and scientific factors that have shaped — and sometimes...