Judi Jennings, the center’s founding director, received the 2011 Dr. Mary K. Bonsteel Tachau Gender Equity Award from the Women’s Center which recognizes a member of the UofL community who has done significant work toward gender equity. Jennings is executive director of the Kentucky Foundation for Women. She co-wrote the publication, “Free Spaces and Transformative Practices: Fostering Democratic Values Within Bureaucratic Institutions” which deals with the “origins” of campus-based women’s centers across the country, including UofL’s, which had its operational start in 1991.
In addition, three UofL students received a 2011 Nichols Award, to funds travel to complete research in their fields. Amanda Denton Hobbs, justice administration, will use the grant to attend the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences’ Annual Meeting, March 2012, in New York City. She will present a paper: “Immigration in the Bluegrass: Hispanic-Latino Attitudes, Knowledge and Fear of Law Enforcement.” The study concerns the impact of immigration legislation on Hispanic attitudes towards police in Louisville.
Kavita Patel, medicine, will travel to Washington, D.C. to participate in the Capitol Hill Fellowship Program (February 2012 with Congressman Joe Crowley). As a Capitol Hill Fellow, she plans to play an active role in reforming laws that have major consequences on the future of medicine and hopes to gain further appreciation for the intense effort involved in passing laws.
Margaret “Meg” Hancock, educational leadership and organizational development, will use her grant to travel to various universities in December and January to interview women and collect data for her dissertation. She will explore career experiences and expectations of women in senior-level intercollegiate athletic administration; identify perceived career barriers and supports; and gain a better understanding of how the negotiation of barriers and supports influences career development, expectations and goals.