xt7b5m628c8v https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7b5m628c8v/data/mets.xml University of Kentucky. Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies Kentucky University of Kentucky. Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies 2006 volumes. Call Number: LD2762.9 .K38c. Accession Number: 2018ua049 journals LD2762.9 .K38c English Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies  Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection University of Kentucky Odyssey Magazine Research -- Kentucky -- Periodicals Education -- Research -- Periodicals Research -- Kentucky Odyssey: The Magazine of University of Kentucky Research and Graduate Studies, Summer 2006 text images Odyssey: The Magazine of University of Kentucky Research and Graduate Studies, Summer 2006 2006 2006 2026 true xt7b5m628c8v section xt7b5m628c8v  

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY

w

 

 

  

Lee T. Todd Jr., President

Wendy Baldwin, [\ecuti\e\ire President for Researrh
Delwood Cf Collins, Senior »\sso(iate \ kc President

for Research and infrastructure

John Parks, Associate \ite President

for Research and Eronomit De\elopment
Chuck Staben, -\ssor rate \ice President
for Researth iaculh Programs
Agriculture

M Scott Smith, Dean

Arts and Sciences
Stewn iloch, Dean

Business and Economics
Dexanathan Sudharshan, Dean

Communications
and Information Studies
J Da\id Johnson, Dean

Dentistry
Sharon P Turner, Dean

Design
Dai id \tohnei, Dean

Education
James Cibulka, Dean

Engineering
Thomas \\ Lester, Dean

Fine Ans
Robert Shay Dean

Health Sciences
Lori Gonzalez, Dean

law
‘\||an \l, \estal, Dean

Medicine
Jar A, Perman, Dean

Nursing
Carolyn r\. \lilliams, Dean

Pharmacy
lsenneth B Roberts, Dean

Public Health
Stephen it Matt, Dean

Social Work
lsa» Hoffman, Dean

Odyssey
Director
Deborah \leis

Editor
Jeff Vtorlex

Associate Editor, Art Director
& Web Designer
Alicia P Oregon

Designer
Shear & Shear

Photographer
lee P, Thomas Photograph»

Printer
Gateway Press

Odyssey is published three times a war by
the Office ot the heroine \ l(t‘ President
for Researt h and (o\ers the latest researrh
ad\an< es, inno\atr\e scholarship, and
outstanding people that are part of the
Lnnersitl of kenturlo's Slutimillionaxear
research enterprise

To i(‘((‘|\(‘ a free subsrription,
f UK Gloria Singletary.
“They had the enthusiastic participa-
tion of Gloria herself." Crofford notes,
adding. “Shes a champion of women's
health issues and an unbelievable lady.“
Private donations were matched by
funds from the state‘s Research Chal-
lenge Trust Fund to create the chair.
Crofford's own journey to UK began
with a phone call from a fomier intern
from Crofford's residency days at
Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. That call
was from Anne Pittman. a UK associate
professor in internal medicine. who
had just been named to the search
committee for the center director. “She
knew my background." Crofford says.
(Crofford trained in molecular biology
and held a rheumatology fellowship at

theNlH,an(lwas.atthattime.aprofes—
sor of rheumatology at the University
of Michigan.)

Crofford studies fibromyalgia—
chronic. widespread muscle pain. ace
companied by fatigue. In 2005 the
journal Arthritis (8’; Rheumatism pub»
lished her study on Pfizer's drug
Lyricaw. which was shown to signifi»
cantlyrcducethepainoffibromyalgia
and improve sleep. “The inflamma»
tory stress-related diseases l study are
much more common in women. so
when Anne was casting about for
peoplcsheknewwithactmnectionto
woincns health. she found me."

And what started as a search for
one. became a dual recruitment. “l
wasn‘t so sure at first, My husband is
also in academic medicine. and we
were happy where we were, But Anne
begged me to send her both of our
t‘Vs. which I did," ('rofford recalls.
“And then the next thing we knew. Al
Cohen. directorofthei lK Markeyfan-
cer Center. was on the phone to my
McDonagh.
('rofford's husband became chief of

husband.” Kevin
hematt)logy/oncology and deputy di-
rector of the Markcy Cancer (‘enter
and she became chief of rheumatol»
ogy and director of the Center for the
Advancement of Women‘s Health in
2004,

Her first orderof business, ('rofford
says. was helping the center “find its
research legs" by recruiting an associ-
ate director for researchThat role was
filled by Sara .lo Nixon. a UK psychol-
ogy professor who now spearheads
thefirstof two research groups. Nixon's
group will design research projects to
explore the interaction of different
health behaviors (i.e..smoking. drink—
ing. sedentary lifestyle) by examining

 Is this your last
Odyssey?

See postcard
for details.

 

 Is this your last
Odyssey?

See postcard
for details.

 

 the Kentucky Women's Health Registry. Nixon has already been
involved in such behavioral research—a National institute on
Drug Abuse project that began with the unlikely (and somewhat
unpopular) premise that nicotine may have some positive effects
for substance abusers. (For more. see Orbiss‘m Summer 2004 at
www . researc h . u ky .ed u / odyssey. )

The second research group focuses on stressrelated syn»
dromes. “One of the things that became very clear once i got
here was that UK has a huge amount of expertise in neuroendo-
crineimmunology."saysCrofford.whowill partnerwith Suzanne
Segerstrom (psycht>logy/optimism and immunity), Mary Duke
(internal n'iedicine/chronic fatigue). Deborah Erickson (urol-
ogy/irritable bladder). Lisbeth Selby tgastroenterology/irritable
bowel ).Tarvez Tucker(neurology/UK Headache& Pain Clinic).
Charles Carlson tpsychology/t)rofacial pain). and Reny de
Leeuw (dentistiy/ orofacial pain).

The Center forthe Advancement of Women‘s Health targets UK
students. as well. “We train students and residents in nursing.
medicine and pharmacy in gender—specific issues related to their
field. We have an internal medicine residency track in women‘s
health that allows us to target primary-care providers."

The center also supports community outreach efforts. like
Crofford's own twohour workshops on fibromyalgia. She sees the
centers outreach role expanding as other practitioners adopt
similar formats for conditions like chronic fatigue and irritable
bowel syndrome. “Although we know we can‘t see every person
individually in ourclinic. the center can be a resource for women
in the community who may or may not be patients at UK."

The bottom line for her center. Crofford says is helping women
take charge of theirown health before a devastating diagnosis. “By
the time a woman gets to the Gill Heart institute. she‘s already had
a heart attack. By the time she gets to the Markey Cancer Center.
she‘salready got cervicalcancer. That‘stoolater’e know cervical
cancer is associated with sexually transmitted disease. We know
endometrial cancer has a strong link to obesity. Our job is to
understand these modifiable risk factors and teach prevention.“

And that prevention takes the form of the Women‘s Health
Clinic. Shortly after her arrival on campus. Crofford secured
dedicated space for this new nniltidisciplinary clinic on the
second floor of the Kentucky Clinic. “We've always had good
primary care. which is a strong partnership between College of
Medicine MDs and College of Nursing ARNPs," she says, but
these primary—care providers used to see patients in an over-
crowded internal medicine clinic. Now. women have a space
all their own.

Women's Health Statistics

Heart disease is the number
one killer of women in the
United States.

Colorectal cancer and breast
cancer are the second- and
third-leading cancer killers
of women.

Women are more likely than
men to die from a stroke.
Nearly twice as many women
as men die from Alzheimer's
disease each year.

75 percent of Americans
living with autoimmune
disorders, including lupus,
multiple sclerosis and
rheumatoid arthritis,

are women.

University of Kentucky 7

 

  

 

 

 

 

"This is an exhausting and
emotionally draining field

to be in because you're
exposed to some of the most
horrific cruelties that one
person can perpetrate on
another. But you also see the
amazing resiliency of women
and children. Violence clearly
changes a woman's life, but
it need not ruin it. And as
researchers and educators,
we can play a role in ensuring
it doesn't."

—Carol Jordan

8 Odyssey

 

“In fact, this is for the clinic," she says, pointing to a painting
that. for the time being, hangs in her office. Muted gold and blue
rectangles highlightthe outline ofawoman. Her head is back and
her hand covers her breast. An X—ray view of her spine and pelvis
shows the underlying strength of her form. “I commissioned this
from a UK graduate student. She was exploring issues of body

and acceptance. 1 think it‘s important that we be conscious of the
relationshipbetweenwomenandtheirbodies." The artist,Victoria
Flanigan, who created the cover of this magazine and artwork for
this article earned her master's degree in fine arts at UK in May
2006.

Crofford‘s goal for the clinic: create a one-stop shop for
healthcare. “We don't want women to have to make extra trips.
We‘ve added sub-specialists in rheumatology. gastroenterol-
ogy. neurology, gynecology, and nutrition. We‘ll soon have a
nurse psychologist to see patients in our clinic and a staff
member trained in the Cooper-Clayton smoking cessation
program. By adding these sub—specialties and quality-of-life
programs, we can better assist our patients in learning how to
live healthy lives."

Crofford adds, “We‘re not duplicating UK programs that are
great—like the Comprehensive Breast Care Center. lt‘s won—
derful that the Markey Cancer Center and Gill Heart Institute
are right here on campus. Our hope is that we fit nicely within
the spectrum of clinical activities at UK.

“it we can intervene early, when women first develop
symptoms of pain and stress, we can stop these things from
mushrooming into huge. lasting problems 10 years down the
road.”

Breaking the Cycle of Violence
against Women

After leaving work at a salon in a Louisville, Kentucky, shopping
mall, Mary Byron sat in her car as it warmed up. It was December
6, 1993. just weeks after her former boyfriend had been arrested
and jailed for kidnapping and raping her. Mary thought she was
safe. But she didn't know her attacker had posted bail.

Mary’s former boyfriend approached her car and fired seven
bullets into her head and chest. It was Mary’s 21“ birthday.

 

“She had asked a numberof different people in the local justice
system to let her know if her attacker was released," explains
Carol Jordan, director of UK’s Center for Research on Violence
Against Women, “but whateverthe good intentions were of these
professionals, that notice never came and her life ended that
day.”

 Marys horrific case led to the cre—
ation ofVlNE® (Victim Information and
Notification Everyday), a 24—hour. auto
mated phone and email system that
updates victims on the custody status of
offenders. VINE was first implemented
in Jefferson County. Mary's home
county. one year after her death. Jor-
dan, who has spent 23 years helping
women and children who have faced
sexual assault. intimate partnerviolence.
child abuse. and stalking. co—authored
legislation in 1996 to expand the sys—
tem, making Kentucky the first state in
the nation to offer a statewide victim
notification system. Today more than
1,400 communities in 36 states offer
VINE.

"VINE has literally saved lives," Jor-
dan says “And Marys story also led to
the creation of the Mary Byron Founda-
tion. which funds innovative programs
across the country that seek to break
the cycle of violence against women.
The foundation contributed $10,000 to
the UKCenterforResearchon Violence
Against Women when we started in
2002. and just last April gave us $50,000
to establish the Mary Byron Scholars
Program, a graduate fellowship in her
name."

Before coming to UK. Jordan spent
eight years on the executive staff of
former Governor Paul Patton, spear-
heading the state’s effort to address vio
lenceagainstwomenandchildren.Over
her career she successfully lobbied for
30 pieces of legislation, including bills
to improve mental health services.
strengthen prosecution, expand civil
remedies for victims, and to create in-
novative systems like VINE and
Kentucky's Amber Alert System. She
secured the first state funding for rape

crisis centers and for children's advo
cacy centers. With the Kentucky Do
mestic Violence Association, she
increased state funds for domestic vio-
lence programs to $4.8 million, an in—
crease of 112 percent. In 1996 she
authored a resolution to encourage col-
leges and universities across Kentucky
to increase curricula related to violence
against women and children.

“I’m so pleased to now be here at UK
and have a role in making that resolu-
tion happen," says Jordan. her energy
and passion for what she does evident
with each word. Leslie Crofford, COBRE
directorTom Curry and BlRCWH direc-
tor Jef Ferguson all use the same word
to describe Jordan: dynamic.

Why was such a center necessary?
“During my time in the governors of-
fice, I realized police, advocates, thera—

pists, physicians, and nurses were just
not adequately prepared by theirgradu—
ate coursework to identify violence in
the lives of their patients or clients, orto
know what course of action to take if
abuse was disclosed. Our educational
system was inadequate. And, as a na-
tion, we lacked a research agenda on
violence against women, which meant
weweren’tdoing enough research,and
we were doing an inadequate job of
putting good research in the hands of
the professionals who need it.

“it is both a strength and a chal-
lengethatthere is no discipline called
‘violence against women.’ It crosses
traditional academic boundaries—
psychology, law, social work, medi-
cine, nursing, women‘s studies, and

roniinucd on 0. ii

Director Carol Jordan (center) and the staff of the Center for Research on \iolence

Against \\orncn are in\ol\ ed in research projects focused on protectke orders

and sentencing decisions in domestic \iolence cases. From left to right: Emily

Bradshaw and lmilv ilodell (psychologv doctoral candidates), Lana Stephens and

Laurie Depuv (office staff), Danielle Duckett-Pritc’hard lsecond-vear master's stu—

dent in sociology), and \dam Pritc hard (sociology doctoral candidate).

 

 

  

 

2004 UK Women's Safety Study

In September 2004, the Center for Research on Violence
Against Women released results from a study that polled
1,010 female graduate and undergraduate students at UK.
The study revealed that 36.5 percent of these women had
been sexually or physically assaulted. or stalked. Center
Director Carol Jordan says UK‘s number mirrors that of
other universities, but fewer UK women report crimes
than women do at other institutions.

She explains that a national study of college women in
2000 showed 5 percent reporttheirsexual
victimization to law enforcement. “Our
study found about 1.5 percent of UK col—
lege women report sexual assault,” Jor-
dan says. “What that tells me is we’re not
doingagood enoughjob ofcommunicat—
ing to women that at UKthere are people prepared to help
them if they reach out, and that they won’t be blamed for
their victimization.

“We also asked how safe women feel at UK. and only 15
percent said they feel afraid. While that seems like good
news—that the vast majority of women here feel safe—in
comparison to the percentage of women who actually
experience victimization, female students at UK may be
inaccurately appraising their level of risk. We need to do
a better job of educating them about the realities of
violence.” The study also asked women who they fear—
strangers or known partners. “Most chose strangers. But
the study showed that 82 percent of UK women who had
been victimized were harmed by someone they knew,
not a stranger.“

Based on US. Department ofJustice data, UK ranks last
in the Southeast in per capita spending for police. “UK
also ranks last among benchmark and Southeast Confer-

10

ence universities in the student-to-officer ratio." Jordan
says.

To address the prevalence of victimization. the lack of
adequate support services for victims. and the need for
education among all students. in 2005 UK President Lee
T. Todd Jr. committed an additional $1.25 million in
funding to support new programs. These programs in—
clude UK Women’s Place (a central point of contact for
coordinating referrals for counseling and academic.

Eighty-two percent of UK women who had
been victimized were harmed by someone
they knew, not a stranger.

financial and medical help). new landscaping and light-
ing, first—responder training. and funding for an addi—
tional police officer. “This was four times more than UK
spent on women’s safety programs in 2004." says Jordan.
“Dr. Todd deserves a lot of credit for being willing to
release this data and draw attention to the problem.
Literally hundreds of people all over campus are now
involved in increasing women‘s safety."

Jordan says her center will seek funds in 2007 to do a
follow—up study. “We hope our efforts to improve safety
at UK will mean a lower prevalence and an increase in
women who report theirvictimization. It‘s very troubling
that the vast majority of women who suffer some form of
harm never tell their friends. roommates or family, let
alone the police. We need to let women know that this is
an academic environment where you can get support if
something like this happens to you."

 more. That's why an interdisciplinary approach is so important."

The Center for Research on Violence Against Women was the
brainchild of Jordan and former UK Provost Mike Nietzel. “We
wrote a concept paper, and I took that to the governor and Mike
took it to President Todd. so the center was really a partnership
between the university and the governor‘s office. Next, we created
an advisory co mittee of faculty from all the disciplines 1 just
mentioned to get input on what the center‘s direction and focus
should be." After leaving the governor's office, Jordan was re-
cruited by UK to serve as the center‘s first director

The centers national advi- ry committee is made up of faculty
from prestigious universities across the country. Kentucky advo
cates and practitioners, and UK faculty associates from the col—
leges of arts and sciences (psychology). law. medicine (:OB/GYN,
psychiatry. behavioral science ). nursing. social work. the women's
studies program. and the Center forthe Advancement ofWomen's
Health.

“We have the potential to be a nationally preeminent center'—
something that is not duplicated anywhere in the country." says
Jordan. who in 2005 received the Paul H. Chapman Award from
the Foundation for Improvement of Justice. The award recognizes
innovative programs that can serve as national models. She says.
“The fact that we have made reforms on behalf of women and
children in Kentucky and that those reforms have been shared
with the nation speaks not to what a single person has done. but
to what the collective effort of people believing deeply in their
work can create."

Jordan donated the $10000 check she received for this award
to the centertosupport the creation ofan endowed chairin mental
health. a field she is particularly passionate about. Jordan spent
three years as a clinical psychologist before becoming a
policymaker.

“I believe we have the opportunity to create an unparalleled
center on the empirical study ofviolence against women. because
Of the quality of the faculty already here. the prestigious faculty we
plan to recruit. and because of the way our work has been
embraced by the professional and academic community. We're
ready to do this on a grand scale by endowing five chairs of study
on violence against women." This immense fundraising effort—a
minimum of$l million perchair—will help UKbecome “the place
where the top scientists publishing and researching in this area are
located and where graduate students and faculty will want to be."

Funding is already set for the first of the five chairs: the Verizon
Wireless Chair of Studies on Violence Against Women will be

 

 

 

Violence Statistics

Homicide is the leading cause
of death