Campus News

Top Researcher on Violence Against Women Joins UK

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 2, 2010) - Nationally known expert in the field of violence against women, Claire M. Renzetti, is joining the University of Kentucky's Center for Research on Violence Against Women and the Department of Sociology, College of Arts and Sciences.  In the center, Renzetti will hold an endowed chair of studies on violence against women, and she will hold a professorship in the sociology department.

"This successful recruitment represents both Dr. Renzetti’s stature as an internationally recognized scholar in the violence against women field and the center’s increasing reputation as one of the premier programs of its kind worldwide," said Carol E. Jordan, assistant provost and director of the Center for Research on Violence Against Women.

"I am extremely pleased to have such an innovative partnership with the center," said Mark Lawrence Kornbluh, dean of theUK College of Arts and Sciences. "The interdisciplinary research it will foster will allow us to push the boundaries of knowledge and to contribute to addressing one of the major social problems of our time."

"Dr. Renzetti brings a unique blend of expertise in social inequalities and criminology that provides a nice synergy with our current faculty strengths and student interests. We are also excited about this opportunity to enhance our department’s relationship with the center and the important interdisciplinary research being conducted there," said Patrick Mooney, chair of the Department of Sociology.

Renzetti currently serves as professor of sociology at the University of Dayton. Her areas of specialization are the sociology of gender, criminology and the sociology of law and social movements. She has authored or edited 16 books as well as numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and other publications. Most of Renzetti’s research has focused on violence against women, particularly economically and socially marginalized groups of women. Her current research addresses human trafficking.

In addition to her research and writing, Renzetti is the editor of Violence Against Women: An International & Interdisciplinary Journal and is editor of the Gender, Crime, and Law book series published by Northeastern University Press. She also co-edits the Interpersonal Violence book series published by Oxford University Press.

Renzetti has an extraordinary national reputation. In 2009, her contributions to increasing the quality of justice and level of safety for women were recognized by the Saltzman Award from the Women and Crime Division of the American Society of Criminology.

"I am honored to join the faculty at the University of Kentucky. My appointments in the Center for Research on Violence Against Women and in the Department of Sociology afford me opportunities to work with colleagues and students in my own field and across disciplines to advance our understanding of the causes and consequences of interpersonal violence and to develop strategies for increasing safety and improving the lives of women and girls nationally and globally," said Renzetti.

Upon the approval of the UK Board of Trustees, Renzetti will begin her appointment effective Aug. 16, 2010. The endowed chair position she will hold is one of six 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. The center will announce the formal name of the endowed chair position Renzetti will hold in fall 2010.

"We are extremely pleased to welcome Dr. Renzetti to the ranks of the UK faculty," said Kumble R. Subbaswamy, UK provost. "The Center for Research on Violence Against Women and its college collaborations embody the spirit of our move to Top 20 and afford us a tangible means of attaining national prominence through the recruitment of outstanding faculty."