The College of Arts and Sciences announced today that Carol Jordan, a nationally recognized women’s advocate will retire after a 40 years career of public policy, legislative advocacy, research and writing, and the development of programs addressing intimate partner violence, rape and stalking. Following graduate school, Jordan worked in a domestic violence shelter and served as the first director of a statewide sexual and domestic violence program in the state’s Department for Mental Health. She led expansion of Kentucky rape crisis centers from 4 to 13.



In 1996 she was recruited by then-Governor Paul E. Patton to serve as the founding executive director for the Governor’s Office of Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Services. During her time in the Governor’s Office, she advanced increased funding for domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers by 42% and 129%, respectively.



In 2002, Jordan worked with the UK president and a faculty advisory committee to create the Center for Research on Violence Against Women, a first of its kind academic research center on gender violence. Jordan served as the Center’s founding director of the Center from 2003 until 2014. Jordan also created the Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women in the College of Arts & Sciences in 2017.



A primary focus of Jordan’s career has been advocating legislative reform on behalf of women and children. She authored or co-authored more than 30 bills.



Jordan has authored three books, eleven book chapters and over 40 peer reviewed articles on gender violence. Her most recent book, published by the University Press of Kentucky, received the Thomas D. Clark Medallion Book Award. During her time at UK has built a $7 million research endowment that has supported, among other things, 28 doctoral students. Additionally, she created the Women’s Empowerment Scholarship Program to give abuse survivors access to higher education as a tool for escaping and overcoming violence.



Jordan has been recognized nationally by the National Foundation for the Improvement of Justice, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. She has also received awards from the Kentucky Coalition Against 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 with the Sarah Bennett Holmes Award for Outstanding Contributions on Behalf of Women by the University of Kentucky and in 2012 she received the William E. Lyons Award for Outstanding Service from UK’s Martin School of Public Policy and Administration and the Department of Political Science. In 2010 she was awarded a Presidential Proclamation by Texas A&M University and in 2021 was named a Distinguished Alum of that university.



Jordan will retire effective June 30, 2023.