Dr. Kathryn Libal, Associate Professor of Policy Practice at the University of Connecticut’s School of Social Work, has been named the Director of the Human Rights Institute. Dr. Libal came to the University of Connecticut in 2004, and has served as Associate Director for the Human Rights Institute since 2012 and was Acting Director between January-July 2014.
Dr. Libal’s research interests reflect a commitment to interdisciplinary research and education, and her work has focused on cultivating a deeper understanding of human rights law and practice in social work and allied professions. She has published on women’s and children’s rights movements in Turkey and on the advocacy of international non-governmental organizations on behalf of Iraqi refugees. Her current scholarship has focused on the localization of human rights norms and practices in the United States, and includes a co-edited volume with Dr. Shareen Hertel on Human Rights in the United States: Beyond Exceptionalism (Cambridge University Press, 2011) and a co-authored book with Dr. Scott Harding on Human Rights-Based Approaches to Community Practice in the United States (Springer, 2015). Dr. Libal is currently working on an ethnographic project which examines failures of food aid policies to address widespread food insecurity in the United States as a human rights concern.
Vice Provost for Global Affairs Dr. Daniel Weiner expressed how pleased he was with Dr. Libal’s appointment, “We are delighted with Kathy’s appointment as Director of the Human Rights Institute. Her enthusiasm is infectious and she has already built strong relationships across the University. Kathy’s experience in human rights practice, as well as her vision and resolve, will reinforce the position of UConn’s Human Rights Institute as a global leader in human rights research, teaching and practice.”
Dr. Libal noted, “The Institute, with the support of the university and dedicated faculty, is a flourishing site for scholarly exchange, teaching and public engagement on human rights. I am delighted to have an opportunity to serve as Director and to work with varied departments and units across the university to provide a unique model of interdisciplinary education.”
Among her extensive list of achievements and service, Dr. Libal presently serves on the Provost’s Task Force on Diversity and Multi-culturalism, and is a member of the UConn Cities Collaborative Initiative Steering Committee.
Dr. Libal received both her Ph.D. and M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Washington. She has a B.A. (Honors) in Comparative Religion from Lewis and Clark College.
For more information, contact: Zahra Ali at zahra.ali@uconn.edu