The Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women in the College of Arts & Sciences has announced creation of the Ashley T. Judd Distinguished Graduate Fellowship. Ashley Judd, who is a University of Kentucky alumna, feminist, and social justice humanitarian, was on campus for the announcement. 

“We are proud to recognize the impassioned work of one of the college’s alumni and pleased to have the opportunity to use Ashley’s work to teach graduate students across disciplines,” said Mark Kornbluh, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. 

“The Ashley T. Judd Distinguished Graduate Fellowship is a rightful way to honor Ashley’s efforts to end violence against girls and women, and an extraordinary chance to inspire the next generation of scholars and activists,” said Carol E. Jordan, executive director of the Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women.

Judd has been working internationally with nongovernmental organizations, grassroots organizations, governments, and supranational bodies since 2004.  Presently, she serves as Global Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), is the Global Ambassador for Population Services International and for Polaris Project. Through UNFPA she has recently traveled to Jordan, Ukraine, Turkey and India. She serves on the advisory boards of International Center for Research on Women, Apne Aap Women Worldwide and Demand Abolition. She is chairperson of the Women’s Media Center Speech Project: Curbing Abuse, Expanding Freedom.

After graduating from the UK College of Arts and Sciences, Judd earned a Master of Public Administration degree in 2010 from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.  Her paper, "Gender Violence, Law and Social Justice," won the Dean’s Scholar Award at Harvard Law School. She frequently serves as an expert panelist at international conferences, is a sought after public speaker and is a widely published op-ed author with a diverse and unique social media presence. Her book, "All That Is Bitter & Sweet," detailing her visits to grassroots programs in 13 countries, was a New York Times bestseller. Judd is also an actor on film and stage. She has been nominated for several Golden Globe and Emmy awards.

While on campus, Ms. Judd also provided the Irma Sarett Rosenstein Invited Lecture which was co-hosted by the Colleges of Social Work and the College of Arts & Sciences.  Her lecture was entitled “From Kentucky to Kenya and Everywhere in Between” and profiled the personal story embedded in her international work on behalf of abuse survivors. Ashley also spoke in an impassioned way about the #MeToo movement currently sweeping the nation.

The OPSVAW will request proposals from graduate students in the College of Arts & Sciences for the Ashley T. Judd Distinguished Graduate Fellowship in Spring 2018.