Ellen J. Kennedy

Ellen J. Kennedy, Ph.D. is the founder and Executive Director of World Without Genocide, a human rights organization headquartered at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, St. Paul, MN.

Kennedy promotes Holocaust, genocide, and human rights education in colleges, universities, faith-based organizations, and civic groups. She advocates with elected officials at city, state, national, and international levels on genocide prevention and human rights issues. Kennedy was a professor at the University of St. Thomas from 1987 to 2007 and served as the Interim Director for the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, University of Minnesota, from 2008 to 2010. She founded World Without Genocide with support from her students at the University of St. Thomas in 2006.

She has been an adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law since 2006 where she teaches Genocide Prevention: A 21st Century Challenge and Transgender Identity: Rights and Challenges Locally and Globally. Kennedy also taught at many colleges and universities abroad, including in Australia, China, Costa Rica, England, India, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Poland, and Ukraine. Kennedy speaks at conferences and events locally, nationally, and internationally. Dr. Ellen Kennedy is the representative of World Without Genocide to the United Nations Department of Global Communications since December 10, 2024.

Education

Dr. Kennedy graduated from Ishpeming High School in Ishpeming, Michigan. Kennedy earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Psychology from the University of Michigan in 1969. She has master's degrees in Communications (1972) and English (1971) from Northern Michigan University and a master's in Sociology from the University of Minnesota in 1986. She hold a doctorate in Marketing (1988) and a doctorate in Sociology (2001) from the University of Minnesota.

Published articles

Kennedy has published many articles on human rights and genocide in academic and mass publications. Kennedy was a regular contributor for Minnesota Public Radio from 2010 to 2012.

Academic Publications

• "Never Again Must Mean Never," in Sociologists in Action: Sociology, Social Change, and Social Justice, 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

• “Bar and Bat Mitzvah: Rites of Affirmation and Integration,” in Rituals of Childhood, K. M. Johnson, University of Wisconsin Press, 58-78, 2005.

• “Defining Campus-Community Partnerships,” in Service-Learning and Undergraduate Sociology, 3rd edition, JoAnn DeFiore, Morten G. Ender, Brenda Marsteller Kowalewski, American Sociological Association, Washington, D.C., 2005, 160-162.

• “Lands of the Free,” in Upper Midwest Jewish History, the journal of the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest, vol. 4, summer 2005, 20-33.

• “Faculty in Service-Learning: A Typology,” in NSEE Quarterly, Spring 2003, 28:3, 2003, 5-10.

• “Blissful Ignorance: The Problem of Unrecognized Incompetence and Academic Performance,” with Leigh Lawton and E. Leroy Plumlee, Journal of Marketing Education, 24:3, December 2002, 243-252.

• “Determinants of Moral Reasoning: Sex-Role Orientation, Gender, and Academic Factors,” with Leigh Lawton and Dawn Elm, in Business and Society, 40:3, 2001, 241-265.

• “The Case for Live Cases: Shifting the Paradigm in Marketing Education,” with Leigh Lawton and Erika Walker, Journal of Marketing Education, 23:2, 2001, 145-151.

• “A Long Circular Journey,” chapter in Jewish Mothers Tell Their Stories: Acts of Love and Courage, Cole, Josefowitz Seigel, and Steinberg-Oren, Haworth Publishers, 2000.

• “National Culture and Business Ethics: A Comparison of the United States, Singapore, Australia, and Ukraine,” with Leigh Lawton and E. Leroy Plumlee, Global Focus, 2000, 12: 2, 69-85.

• “Religiousness and Business Ethics,” with Leigh Lawton, Journal of Business Ethics, 17: 163-175, 1998.

• “Life Histories in Mixed-Faith Marriages: Jewish Identity and Continuity,” Association for the Sociology of Religion, San Francisco, August 20-22, 1998, abstract in Retrieval and Critique: Contributions of Sociology of Religion to a Critical Social Science, 32.

• “Attitudes towards Jews in Australia, 1879-1933,” Association for the Sociology of Religion, August, 8-10, 1997; abstract published in conference Proceedings.

• “The Power of Culture: Religious Affiliation, Social Alienation, and Business Ethics,” Proceedings of the Eighth National Conference on Applied Ethics, 1997, 44-50.

• “Using a Multimedia, Interactive Computer Experiment in Ethics Research,” Proceedings, Educational Innovations in Economics and Business, December 1996.

• “The ‘Mommy Track’: Impact of Family Life on Women in the Professoriate,” Women and Work with Mary Carsky and Mary Ellen Waller Zuckerman, Paula J. Dubeck and Kathryn Borman, Garland Publishing, Inc., 1996, 424-427.

• “Term Limits for Honors Directors,” The National Honors Report, XVII, 1, Spring 1996, 3-4.

• “The Effects of Social and Moral Integration on Ethical Standards: A Comparison of American and Ukrainian Business Students,” with Leigh Lawton, Journal of Business Ethics, August 1996, 15:8, 901-911.

• “Traveling Abroad: Expanding Borders,” with Carrie Noran, in The National Honors Report, Vol. XVI, No. 2, Summer 1995, 46-48.

• “Business in Fiction,” with David Rounds, The National Honors Report, Vol. XV, No. 2., Summer 1994, pp. 48-52.

• “Ethics and Services Marketing,” with Leigh Lawton, Journal of Business Ethics, 12: 785-795, 1993.

• “Students at Work: The Socialization of Interns to Business,” with Leigh Lawton and Hinda Pollard, Proceedings of the International Academy of Business Disciplines, April 1992.

• “The Ukrainian Experience: Economics and Politics,” with Leigh Lawton, Proceedings of the International Academy of Business Disciplines, April 1992.

• “Men and Women in Industrial Sales: Satisfaction and Outcomes,” with Leigh Lawton, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 21: 1, February 1992, 5-14.

• “Business Ethics in Fiction,” with Leigh Lawton, Journal of Business Ethics, 1992, 11: 187-195.

• “The Structure of Social Relations: Network Analysis and the Sales Force,” American Marketing Association, February 1991, in Proceedings.

• “The Use of Industrial Direct Mail: A Paradox,” in Marketing Lecture Enrichment Series; Pride and Ferrell, Vol. 2, 7th ed., Houghton Mifflin Co., 1991, 71-77.

• “Men and Women in the Industrial Salesforce: A Longitudinal Perspective,” with Leigh Lawton, American Marketing Association, August 1990, abstract published in Proceedings.

• “Perspectives on Women in Marketing Education: A Comparison of the Career Paths of Male and Female Marketing Educators,” with Mary Carsky and Mary Ellen Waller-Zuckerman, Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science, May 1990.

• “Men and Women in the Marketing Professoriate: A Comparison of Status, Attitudes, and Family Composition,” with Mary Carsky and Mary Ellen Waller-Zuckerman, American Sociological Association, August 1990.

• “Women Marketing Educators: Interests, Productivity, and Satisfaction,” with Mary Carsky and Mary Ellen Waller-Zuckerman, Journal of Marketing Education, Spring 1990, 1-10.

• “Organizational Socialization and Gender Differences in Students at Work,” with Leigh Lawton, Proceedings of the Association for Business Simulations and Experiential Learning, January 1990.

• “Understanding Student Work Experience: A Content-Analytic Approach,” with Leigh Lawton, Proceedings of the Association for Business Simulations and Experiential Learning, January 1990.

• “The Use of Industrial Direct Mail: A Paradox,” Proceedings of the Southern Marketing Association, November 1989.

• “The ‘Mommy’ Track: Impact of Family Life on Women in the Professoriate,” with Mary Carsky and Mary Ellen Waller-Zuckerman, Proceedings of the Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior Conference, November 1989.

• “Women Marketing Educators: Interests, Productivity, and Satisfactions,” with Mary Carsky and Mary Ellen Waller-Zuckerman, Proceedings of the Atlantic Marketing Association, October 1989.

• “Women Educators Seem to be Happy,” with Mary Carsky and Mary Ellen Waller-Zuckerman, Marketing News, July 17, 1989, 9.

• “Women Marketing Educators: A Survey of Interests, Scholarship, and Professional Activities,” with Mary Carsky and Mary Ellen Waller-Zuckerman, Proceedings of the American Marketing Association Educators’ Conference, February 1989.

• “The Socialization of Women to the Industrial Sales Force,” Proceedings of the American Marketing Association Educators’ Conference, February 1989.

• “Student Interns and Socialization to Work: A Network Perspective,” Southern Management Association Proceedings, Dennis F. Ray, Southern Management Association, 1988, 308-310.

• “Typicality and Family Resemblance Among Selected Graduate School Programs,” with Leigh Lawton, Developments in Marketing Science, Vol. XI, Kenneth D. Bahn, Blacksburg, Virginia: Academy of Marketing Science, 1988, 218-222.

• “Resource Dependency and Uncertainty in Marketing Channel Relationships,” Marketing Theory, American Marketing Association, 1988, 265-269.

• “Family Branding: Generalization of Brand Image to Similar and Dissimilar Line Extensions,” Linda Rochford, Esra Genturck, Shannon Shipp, and Dennis Misurell, Psychology and Marketing, Spring 1987.

• “Social Network Analysis: Potential Applications to Marketing,” Marketing Theory, Russell W. Belk et al., Chicago: American Marketing Association, 1987, 102-106.

• “Organizational Buying Centers: Measurement Procedures,” Marketing in an Environment of Change, Robert L. King, Charleston, SC: Southern Marketing Association, 1986, 100-104.

Awards

Dr. Kennedy has received the following awards:

• Director’s Community Leadership Award, 2023
• Distinguished Alumni Award from Northern Michigan University, 2023
• Woman of Valor Award from Forward Global Women, 2023
• Liberty Bell Award from Ramsey County Bar Association, 2023
• ’50 Over 50′ from AARP Minnesota, 2022
• Representative of World Without Genocide to the United Nations Department of Global Communication, 2021
• Prominent Minnesotan, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, 2019
• Human Rights Award, United Nations Office of Church Women United, 2015
• Woman of Achievement Award, DKG, international women educators’ society, 2014
• Rotarian of the Year, Minneapolis University Rotary Club, 2012-2013
• Nominee, Outstanding Adjunct Faculty, William Mitchell College of Law, 2012
• Change-Maker Award, Minnesota Women’s Press, 2010
• Community Service Staff Award, University of Minnesota, 2010
• Jane Addams Outstanding Women’s Service Award, Midwest Sociological Society, 2010
• Outstanding Citizen Award, Anne Frank Center, New York, 2009
• Human Rights Award, City of Edina, Minnesota, 2007
• Higher Education Leader of the Year Award, National Society for Experiential Education, 2004
• Fulbright Senior Specialist, 2006-2011
• Global Citizenship Award, University of St. Thomas, 2002
• Research Service Award, University of St. Thomas, 1987