Professor Daniel A. Farber is a nationally recognized authority on constitutional law and on environmental law. He also has taught and published widely in several other areas, including contracts, jurisprudence, and legislation. He held the Julius E. Davis Chair in Law during the 1983-84 academic year and in 1987, he became the first Henry J. Fletcher Professor of Law. Professor Farber has served as the Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Development since 1992. His scholarly excellence also has been recognized by his appointment to the McKnight Presidential Chair in Public Law in 2000.

Professor Farber is a graduate of the University of Illinois, where he earned his B.A., M.A., and J.D. degrees. He graduated, summa cum laude, from the College of Law and was the class valedictorian. He also served as Editor-in-Chief of the University of Illinois Law Review. After graduation from law school, he was a law clerk for Judge Philip W. Tone of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and then for Justice John Paul Stevens of the Supreme Court of the United States. Professor Farber practiced law with Sidley & Austin before joining the University of Illinois College of Law faculty in 1978. He has been a member of the University of Minnesota Law School faculty since 1981. He also has been a Visiting Professor at the Stanford Law School, Harvard Law School, and the University of Chicago Law School. Professor Farber is a prolific and respected legal scholar who has written numerous books and journal articles. He is a co-founder and co-editor of Constitutional Commentary, a faculty-edited journal of constitutional law scholarship. Professor Farber also serves on the editorial board of Foundation Press. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Law Institute, the American Economic Association, and is Of Counsel with the Minneapolis law firm of Lockridge, Grindal and Nauen.