Violence against Women in Kentucky: A History of U.S. and State Legislative Reform

About the Author

about the author Carol E. Jordan presently serves as executive director of the Institute for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women at the University of Kentucky and holds faculty appointments in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry. Jordan has a career spanning more than thirty years in public policy, legislative advocacy , research, and the development of programs concentrating on violence against women. She has authored three books, eight book chapters, and more than three dozen peer-reviewed journal articles on violence against women, particularly focusing on civil and criminal justice issues, the mental health effects of violence, the victimization of college women, and the legislative history of addressing gendered violence. Jordan received her bachelor of science degree from Texas A&M University in 1980 and a master of science in clinical psychology from Eastern Kentucky University in 1983. Following graduate school, she held her first position in a domestic violence shelter and went on to serve as the first director of a statewide sexual and domestic violence program in the Department for Mental Health. In 1996 she was recruited by Governor Paul E. Patton to serve as the founding executive director for the Governor’s office of Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Services, a position she held for eight years. Ms. Jordan then helped create the University of Kentucky Carol E. Jordan, 2011. (Courtesy of the University of Kentucky) Center for research on Violence Against Women, serving as the first director of that program from 2003 until 2014. Jordan has been recognized nationally by the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the national Foundation for the Improvement of Justice, and the national Sexual Violence resource Center. She has also received awards from the Kentucky Domestic Violence Association, the Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs, the Kentucky Mental Health Coalition, the Kentucky Psychological Association, and the Kentucky General Assembly for her work. In 2005 she was honored by the University of Kentucky with the Sarah Bennett Holmes Award for outstanding Contributions on Behalf of Women, and in 2012 she received the William E. lyons Award for outstanding Service from the university. In 2010 she was awarded a Presidential Proclamation from Texas A&M University. ...