Center Names First Faculty Associates

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 3, 2005) – The Center for Research on Violence Against Women at the University of Kentucky recently announced the appointment of its first faculty associates. The center, created in 2002 and administratively structured under the UK executive vice president for research, recently established faculty associate positions to bridge alliances with diverse colleges and departments across the university, to access additional research expertise, and to enhance opportunities for innovative, interdisciplinary collaborations.

Carol Jordan, director of the center said, “We are extraordinarily honored to have the formal association of such a distinguished group of scientists, scholars and clinicians. Each of these faculty has served a mentoring, leadership, and advisory role to our work since the center’s inception, and will now continue that colleagueship through this more formal, honored mechanism.”

Among the 11 new faculty associates are two deans (one associate and one assistant), two department chairs, and four endowed professors.  Eight of the 11 are full professors. They average over 80 peer-reviewed publications each, and the research faculty average 12 major grants each.  Five serve as editor for at least one peer-reviewed journal, and almost all are reviewers for scientific journals in their respective fields. Each has received at least one significant award honoring his or her scholarly work.

One of the new faculty associates, Leslie Crofford, the Gloria W. Singletary Chair and Director of the Center for the Advancement of Women’s Health in the College of Medicine, said, “I am delighted to be among the first faculty associates of the Center for Research on Violence Against Women. As the center represents one of the university’s most innovative programs studying critical issues that impact women’s health, affiliation will advance a great partnership for our own far reaching work in the College of Medicine.”

Upon his appointment, Don Lynam, professor in the Department of Psychology, said, “The work done by the Center for Research on Violence Against Women is extremely important. The center seeks to understand the causes and consequences of violence against women, works towards the prevention and treatment of such violence, and conducts extremely valuable outreach to service providers. I am extremely pleased to be officially affiliated with the center.”

In alphabetical order, the first faculty associates of the UK Center for Research on Violence Against Women are:

~ James J. Clark, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Research, College of Social Work

~ Allison Connelly, J.D., Legal Clinic Director, College of Law

~ Leslie J. Crofford, M.D., the Gloria W. Singletary Chair and Director, Center for the Advancement of Women’s Health, College of Medicine
~ James E. Ferguson II, M.D., Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine
~ Louise Everett Graham, J.D., the Wendell H. Ford Professor of Law, College of Law
~ Lynn Hall, Dr.P.H., R.N., Assistant Dean for Research and Ph.D. Program, the Marcia A. Dake Professor of Nursing, College of Nursing
~ Debra Harley, Ph. D., Associate Director of Women’s Studies, Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling, College of Education
~ Lon R. Hayes, M.D., M.B.A., Chair, Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine
~ Donald R. Lynam, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences
~ Robert Walker, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., M.Div., Center on Drug and Alcohol Research, Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine
~ Thomas A. Widiger, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences

Faculty associates to the UK Center for Research on Violence Against Women are appointed for two year terms by the executive vice president for research. Applicants are recommended by the center’s director after receiving input from deans, chairs and other faculty members. Faculty associates collaborate on research projects, advise the activities of the center, and are eligible for the center’s endowed professorships.  Faculty associate positions are highly competitive appointments received by faculty evidencing exceptional scholarly work in a field related to or complimentary of the center’s mission.

For additional information on the UK Center for Research on Violence Against Women or the faculty associates, visit the center’s Web site at or contact Carol Jordan at (859) 257-2737, or by e-mail.