News releases from the Mary Byron Foundation

For Immediate Release
April 12, 2005

Foundation Endows $50,000 to Create Mary Byron Scholars Program

Gift to Support Graduate Education at University of Kentucky’s Center for Research on Violence Against Women

Louisville, Ky. — The Mary Byron Foundation has bestowed a gift to the University of Kentucky Center for Research on Violence Against Women to establish a student fellowship in the name of Mary Byron. The Mary Byron Scholars Program is the first of its kind at the Center and will result from a gift of $50,000 from the Foundation.

The Foundation is named in memory of a young woman killed on her 21st birthday by an abusive former boyfriend who was released from jail without her knowledge. Public outcry after Mary Byron’s murder led to the creation of the nation’s first system of automated victim notification, VINE? (Victim Information and Notification Everyday) — now used in 1,500 communities in 39 states.

“It’s crucial that tomorrow’s practitioners get high-quality training, and the UK Center provides just that,” said Mary Byron Foundation President Pat Byron. “The Foundation is thrilled to help worthy individuals further their education and tackle the ongoing problem of violence against women.”

The Foundation’s gift, to be given over the next five years, will be matched dollar for dollar by the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Research Challenge Trust Fund. The resulting endowment will permanently establish the Mary Byron Scholars Program. The program will support a fellowship to be awarded each year to a graduate student involved in the Center’s research on intimate partner violence, sexual assault, stalking, and related crimes against women.

“This gift provides an extraordinary opportunity to involve a graduate student in innovative research and to do that in the name of a young woman who continues to serve as an inspiration for all of us who work toward ending violence against women,” said Carol E. Jordan, director of the UK Center.

The Mary Byron Foundation contributed $10,000 in seed money to help establish the UK Center in 2002. The Center works to advance interdisciplinary scientific inquiry into the legal and clinical complexities presented by intimate partner violence, rape, stalking and related crimes against women; to improve scholarship and graduate education; and to enhance the welfare and safety of those impacted by the crime through research, scholarship and public service.

The program — the only one of its kind in the region — involves a broad interdisciplinary approach to violence against women, including research and coursework in the legal, mental health, medical, and public policy fields, as well as partnerships with other researchers, Federal agencies, practitioners, and advocates.

About the Foundation

The Mary Byron Foundation, a public grant-making charity based in Louisville, Kentucky, funds programs throughout the United States that are working to stop domestic violence.

We seek innovative efforts that extend beyond crisis management to attack the root causes of this nationwide epidemic and prevent the violence from infecting the next generation.

Contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations make it possible for the Mary Byron Foundation to serve as a clearinghouse of proven, replicable solutions.

Go back to Mary Byron Foundation news releases