Dr. Hartel began teaching philosophy at Notre Dame International High School in Rome, Italy in 1984. In 1985 he moved back to the United States and began teaching philosophy at Xavier University in New Orleans, Louisiana. From 1986 to May of 1991, he taught philosophy at Loyola University of New Orleans. Finally, in August of 1991, he moved to Dubuque, Iowa and began teaching philosophy at Divine Word College in Epworth, Iowa. Dr. Hartel retired from teaching in 2019. He continues teaching Hatha Yoga at the Dubuque Community YMCA and at Body and Soul Wellness Center, Dubuque, Iowa. He also provides Therapeutic Services at Body & Soul through his practice of Philosophical Counseling and Logic-Based Therapy.

In 2004 Dr Hartel was certified in client counseling by Dr. Lou Marinoff of the APPA and in 2017 he was certified as a philosophical consulant in Logic-Based Therapy by Dr. Elliot Cohen of the NPCA. He has been a member of the APPA since 2004.

Teaching Interests at DWC
For many years Dr. Hartel's interest has been in Thomistic philosophy as understood by Jacques Maritain, Etienne Gilson, and W. Norris Clarke, S.J. Although this interest continues, after an intense study of the work of French philosopher Pierre Hadot, Dr. Hartel understood that there was a deeper level of Ancient Western philosophy that he had missed. This level consisted of spiritual exercises practiced by each philosophical school to both form and transform their students. Philosophy, indeed, is a way of life. This realization, together with teaching Asian philosophy at DWC, led Dr. Hartel to develop his present interest in Eastern philosophy where spiritual exercises are still practiced. Dr. Hartel is also a certified yoga teacher and registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance at the 500 hour level.

Education
B.A - Lewis University, Lockport, Illinois (Liberal Arts)
M.A. - Marquette University (Philosophy)
Ph. L. - Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, Italy (Philosophy)
Ph.D. - Pontifical Gregorian University , Rome Italy (Philosophy)

Research Interests
A creative retrieval of the spiritual exercises of Plotinus and Plato
Understanding the philosophy of Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras
The Bhagavad Gita as a way of life.
Ashtanga Yoga as a spiritual exercise.
Yoga therapy for a healthy body, breath, and mind.

Publications
Femina Ut Imago Dei: In the Integral Feminism of St. Thomas Aquinas, Pontifical Gregorian
University Press, 1991
"The Integral Feminism of St. Thomas Aquinas", Gregorianum, Vol. 77/3, 1996