Coker Named Chair of Studies on Violence Against Women

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Lexington, KY (Aug. 30, 2007) ¾ Ann L. Coker has been named the first Verizon Wireless Endowed Chair of Studies on Violence Against Women.
The Verizon Wireless Endowed Chair is the first of five endowed chairs being established by the University of Kentucky Center for Research on Violence Against Women, an effort placing UK in the forefront of research into the  multifaceted dimensions of violence against women.

This endowed chair is jointly established by the center and the UK College of Medicine. Coker will focus on women’s health and will be appointed in the UK College of Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology with a secondary appointment in the UK College of Public Health.

Funded through a combination of a $250,000 gift from Verizon Wireless, local fundraising efforts by the center, and matching funds from the Kentucky Research Challenge Trust Fund, the endowment for the chair totals $1 million.

"The announcement of our successful recruitment of Dr. Coker represents a tremendous success for UK and its ability to advance the  study of women’s health, and it marks a significant step onto the national stage by the center," said Carol Jordan, director of the UK Center for Research on Violence Against Women.

Coker, who will start work at UK Sept. 1, is currently a professor of epidemiology at the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center, School of Public Health. Her research focuses on women’s health, specifically determining the physical and mental health outcomes of intimate partner violence. Over the past 10 years, Coker has published 36 manuscripts on intimate partner violence and received six grants totaling nearly $3 million. In addition to intimate partner violence, Coker’s research has addressed the causes of reproductive cancers. She has received more than $2.7 million in grant funding and published 24 manuscripts in this area. Recently, her work has focused on the associations of cancer and intimate partner violence.

"I am extremely pleased to have such an innovative partnership with the center and believe that the addition of Dr. Coker to our faculty will significantly advance the study of violence against women, its etiologies, its treatment and its preventions," said Dr. Jay Perman, dean of the UK College of Medicine and vice president for clinical affairs.

"The department is extremely excited to have Dr. Coker join our program. She will be a great asset to our advocacy for complete women’s health, particularly focusing on improved clinical care, training and education in obstetrics and gynecology," said Dr. James E. Ferguson, chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

This fall the center is launching a national search for its second endowed chair.  The Women’s Circle Endowed Chair will be appointed in the College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry.

"We are pleased to welcome Dr. Coker to the ranks of the UK faculty," said Kumble R. Subbaswamy, UK Provost. "The Center for Research on Violence Against Women and its interdisciplinary research model are an excellent example of how we can achieve growth in research and advancement of the university's national prominence through the recruitment of outstanding faculty."