WKU News

A WKU student has been awarded a Humanity in Action Fellowship to study human rights in Warsaw, Poland, in the summer of 2017.

Jay Todd Richey of Glasgow, a WKU senior majoring in Political Science and Asian Religions and Culture with a minor in Legal Studies, is one of 54 Humanity in Action Fellows accepted from 40 U.S. colleges and universities to participate in the Fellowship programs in Europe and Atlanta. Humanity in Action is an international organization that educates, inspires and connects a network of university students and young professionals committed to promoting human rights, diversity and active citizenship in their own communities and around the world.

 “I am very excited that Jay Todd will have this prestigious opportunity to study human rights on the ground in Warsaw,” said Dr. Patricia Minter, associate professor of History and coordinator for the Legal Studies minor. “He has broad interests in human rights, legal theory and public policy, with particular interests in civil liberties and international frameworks. Jay Todd is a natural and thoughtful leader, one who possesses both the passion for human rights and the skills for success working within any setting. It has been a joy to work with him on the history of human rights both as a student in my classes and as his thesis director.”

Richey, the son of Lorie and Jeff Richey, is conducting research with Dr. Minter for his Honors Capstone Thesis on academic freedom as a human right. He serves as the two-term WKU Student Government Association President, Student Regent on the WKU Board of Regents, and Chair of the Board of Student Body Presidents of Kentucky. He is also Founder and Chair of the WKU Student Coalition for Renters’ Rights. He is also a student in the Mahurin Honors College at WKU and the Chinese Flagship Program.

Richey plans to pursue graduate study in human rights in preparation for a career in human rights law and public policy.

About Humanity in Action: Humanity in Action is a non-profit, non-partisan organization with governing and advisory Boards in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and the United States. HIA has educated over 1,300 young leaders in their 20s and 30s who now form a unique international network. Humanity in Action works with university students and young professionals in Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey, the United States and Ukraine. Its network contributes in innovative ways to advance human rights and democratic freedoms.  Humanity in Action's annual fellowship programs bring together more than 100 European and American university students and young professionals each summer in Denmark, France, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands to discuss, learn and research in international groups. Humanity in Action Fellows meet leading experts and activists to study the Holocaust and contemporary challenges to minority rights. Fellows write research-based articles and develop teaching tools to share what they learned in their programs. Humanity in Action supports all Fellows financially for the duration of their programs, allowing for the merit-based selection of diverse applicants.

Contact: Dr. Patricia Minter, (270) 745-5098