F. Russell Hittinger (born University of Tulsa. Hittinger's scholarship is focused on the intersection of philosophy, religion, and law, with particular emphasis on the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. For the past several years he has worked and published extensively on the history of Catholic social thought since the 18th century.
27 July 1949) is the Warren Chair of Catholic Studies and Research Professor of Law at theHittinger is on the governing council of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas and is also a member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. He has published more than 100 articles and reviews in addition to several books, among them Thomas Aquinas and the Rule of Law, A Critique of the New Natural Law Theory, and The First Grace: Rediscovering the Natural Law in a Post-Christian World. He has played a role in the writing of papal encyclicals for three popes, his Social Science Academy together with the Pontifical Academy of Science drafted a first report on the global environmental issues only a year before Pope Francis's 2015 encyclical Laudato si'.
He serves as the Director of Ethics for the Warren Medical Research Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma and was formerly on the board of the Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame (2004-2012).
Originally from Quantico, Virginia, Hittinger received his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, summa cum laude, in 1975, and matriculated to the Jesuit St. Louis University, where he was awarded an M.A. and Ph.D. (1986) in philosophy.
Hittinger has been on the faculty at the University of Tulsa since 1996. Before teaching at the University of Tulsa, he was on the faculties of Catholic University of America and Fordham University. He has served as a visiting professor at Princeton University, Catholic University in Ruzomberok, Providence College and New York University.