Andrea Harrington

Biography

Prof. Andrea Harrington currently serves as the Co-Director of the Institute of Air and Space Law and Associate Professor in the McGill Faculty of Law. She is a member of the editorial board for the McGill Annals of Air and Space Law, New Space, and the American Bar Association publication The Air and Space Lawyer as well as providing peer review for numerous other publications including Acta Astronautica and Space Policy.  Among other publications, she is the author of the book “Space Insurance and the Law: Maximizing Private Activities in Outer Space,” which won the British Insurance Law Association Book Prize for 2022. Prof. Harrington is a licensed attorney in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She also teaches in the Space Resources Program for the Colorado School of Mines. Her current research focuses on the use of the principle of due regard in space law and international law. 

Prof. Harrington previously served as Dean of Space Education at Air University for the United States Space Force (USSF), where she was responsible for overseeing the West Space Seminar and Schriever Space Scholars, as well as leading Guardian Education development efforts for USSF Space Delta 13. In that role, she led the establishment of ground-breaking USSF academic programs in Washington DC through Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. Prior to that role, she served as Chair of the Department of Spacepower and Director of the Schriever Space Scholars concentration at Air Command and Staff College, where she was a Full Professor of Military and Security Studies.  There she taught International Space Law and Policy, International Security, and Science Fiction & Military Culture. Before that Prof. Harrington served as the Associate Director of the Air and Space Law Programs at the University of Mississippi, where she taught International Space Law, US Domestic Space Law, International Private Air Law, US National Aviation Law, and Remote Sensing Law. She has been Associate Chair for the Policy, Economics, and Law Department for the International Space University’s 2018 Space Studies Program, Jr. Project Manager for Secure World Foundation, and researcher on projects for the FAA Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation, the International Society for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the Space Security Index.  

Prof. Harrington was an Erin J.C. Arsenault Fellow in Space Governance at the McGill University Institute of Air and Space Law (IASL), where her doctoral research focused on insurance and liability issues for the commercial space industry. Prof. Harrington holds a DCL and LLM from the McGill IASL, as well as a JD with High Honors from the University of Connecticut School of Law, an MSc in European Politics and Governance from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a BA in International Relations and History from Boston University (Magna Cum Laude). Prior to transitioning to air and space law, she was active in the insurance and financial compliance fields. 

Education 

• Doctor of Civil Law (DCL) in Air and Space Law, McGill University, 2017  

• Master of Laws (LLM) in Air and Space Law, McGill University, 2013 

• Juris Doctor (JD), University of Connecticut School of Law, 2012 

• Master of Science (MSc) in European Politics and Governance, London School of Economics and Political Science, 2006 

• Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and History, Boston University, 2004  

Employment 

• Co-Director of the Institute of Air and Space Law & Associate Professor, McGill University, Faculty of Law, August 2023- 

• Dean of Space Education & Full Professor, Air University/United States Space Force, June 2021 – July 2023 (Full Professor from March 2023) 

• Department Chair & Schriever Space Scholars Director, Air University/United States Air Force June 2019-June 2021 

• Associate Professor, Air University, June 2018-March 2023 

• Adjunct Professor in the Space Resources Program, Colorado School of Mines, Aug 2019-Present  

• Associate Chair of the Policy, Economics, and Law Department, International Space University, Summer 2018 in Delft, Netherlands 

• Associate Director of Air and Space Law Programs, University of Mississippi School of Law, January 2016 – June 2018 

• Teaching Associate in the Policy, Economics, and Law Department, International Space University, Summer 2016 in Haifa, Israel 

• Research Assistant & Assistant Editor, McGill University Centre for Research in Air and Space Law, April 2013- February 2016 

• Jr. Project Manager, Secure World Foundation, Summer 2014 

• Wordings Specialist, Beazley Group, May 2010 – December 2012 

• Senior Compliance Officer & Assistant Vice President, Bank of America, October 2006 – February 2009 

Areas of Interest 

International Space Law, Public International Law, Comparative Law, US Space Law & Regulation, Space Security, International Relations, Law and Science Fiction, International Environmental Law