He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Judson University, his Master of Education degree from National-Louis University, and his Doctor of Education degree from the University of Northern Iowa. He is a member of the Middle-Level Education Research Special Interest Group workgroup for the Research Agenda Project on Developing a 21st Century Middle Level Education Research Agenda and a faculty mentor in the Faculty Mentor Initiative. Hurd is also a member of the AMLE Program Review Board for the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).