Dr. Olivarius awarded Yale Undergraduate Lifetime Achievement Award

Yale College Council have announced Dr. Ann Olivarius as the recipient of the 2020-2021 Yale Undergraduate Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Statement by Yale College Council:

In presenting Dr. Olivarius with this award, we celebrate her for being a passionate member of the undergraduate community during her time at Yale, demonstrating an unparalleled and selfless commitment to her career, and serving as a source of inspiration for Yale students through her success and dedication in her field. This award remains the only award in Ivy League history to be selected and administered entirely by students.

Dr. Olivarius is the Chair of McAllister Olivarius, one of the leading firms in the US and UK advancing the rights of women. She also is the Senior Partner of AO Advocates, which has won landmark rulings protecting children and adults who are victims of abuse in Britain.

Ann coined the term “date rape” while at Yale, which Susan Brownmiller later published, and was the legal heart and mind behind the filing of the landmark civil rights case Alexander v. Yale, establishing sexual harassment law in the United States. The ACLU has named her one of the nine most influential actors in the history of Title IX, which provides for equal treatment for women in education, and the British academic journal Nature named her one of the 10 most influential people who matter in science given her work for women. Ann also founded and chairs the RHODES PROJECT, which evaluates the lives and careers of women Rhodes Scholars. When Dr. Olivarius advised Nelson Mandela, he described her as “a lawyer who has advised me well and who has courageously advanced the cause of justice, and improved life opportunities, for hundreds of millions of women, blacks, and disadvantaged, worldwide”.