The Sexual Violence Research Initiative launched in September 2020. The Initiative is made possible by cluster hire funding from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and secured by the Departments of Gender and Women’s Studies, Psychology, Sociology, Social Work, and the La Follette School of Public Affairs. Dr. Janet Hyde (pictured below) led the faculty cluster hire efforts. The three new faculty, chosen across multiple disciplines, engage in research that focuses on (1) psychological aspects of sexual violence, (2) societal aspects of sexual violence, and (3) policy related to sexual violence at multiple levels (e.g., the university, the state, the nation, or internationally).
Two cluster faculty were hired in 2019-20: Dr. Kate Walsh, Associate Professor of Psychology and Gender & Women’s Studies (arrived August, 2020), and Dr. Mariel Barnes, Assistant Professor in the La Follette School (arrived August, 2021). The third, Dr. L.B. Klein, Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work, was an Anna Julia Cooper fellow in 2021-2022 and started their faculty position in August 2022. Additionally, Dr. Chloe Hart, Assistant Professor of Sociology (arrived August 2021), Dr. Jeneile Luebke (started as faculty in August 2022), Dr. Sara Chadwick (started August, 2022), Dr. Rahul Chatterjee (started August, 2019), and Dr. Lara Gerassi, Assistant Professor of Social Work (August, 2017), are also UW faculty members in the SVRI.
For inquiries, contact Dr. Kate Walsh at klwalsh2@wisc.edu.