LSU Law Professor Lisa Avalos is the just the sixth LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center faculty member to be granted a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award, and the first female professor to receive the honor.
LSU Law Professor Lisa Avalos has received a prestigious Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to conduct research on her forthcoming book, She Must Be Lying to Us! When Reporting Rape Becomes a Crime, in the United Kingdom during the 2024-25 academic year.
“It is an incredible honor to be selected for a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award. I am very grateful and delighted to receive this award, and I sincerely hope that my research will help to improve the criminal justice response to survivors of sexual violence,” said Avalos, who joined the LSU Law faculty in 2018.
The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. Granted by the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, program awards support teaching and research endeavors by college and university faculty in more than 135 countries around the world. It is an extremely competitive program, with only about 800 grants being made each academic year. Recipients are selected based on academic and professional achievement, as well as a record of service and demonstrated leadership in their respective fields.
“This honor is a testament to the significance of Professor Avalos’ scholarly contributions,” said LSU Law Dean Alena Allen. “Her groundbreaking research is reshaping our understanding of sexual assault, and this prestigious award will facilitate the completion of her forthcoming book on this critical subject matter.”
Avalos is just the sixth LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center faculty member to be granted a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award, and the first female professor to receive the honor. LSU Law professors who previously received awards include Joe Dainow (1961-62), Robert Pascal (1963-64), Ben Scheiber (1986-87), Stuart Green (2002-03), and John Baker (2005-06).
Queen Mary University of London’s School of Law will serve as Avalos’ host institution for research during the 2024-25 academic year.
“The central purpose of my book project is to change laws and policies with respect to a very harmful practice that pervades the criminal justice system in both the U.K. and the U.S.—the prosecution of sexual assault survivors who are disbelieved by police and then charged with false reporting after grossly deficient police investigations into their cases,” Avalos said. “The book will offer a detailed analysis of how these cases are allowed to occur and will make recommendations for reform.”
Avalos is internationally renowned for her expertise on sexual violence, and her research and teaching interests also include criminal law and procedure. She was honored with the 2023 Visionary Award from the End Violence Against Women International nonprofit organization for her extensive scholarship and independent dedication to help end gender-based violence.
EVAWI CEO and Founder Joanne Archambault (left to right), Professor Lisa Avalos and EVAWI President Ann Burdges at the 2023 International Conference on Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence in Chicago, where Avalos was presented with the 2023 Visionary Award.
“Dr. Lisa Avalos’ research significantly advances our understanding of the law and practice surrounding criminal justice responses to sexual assault, with particular focus on the system’s most egregious failures,” said Dr. Kimberly Lonsway, director of research for EVAWI. “The application of Dr. Avalos’ scholarship—combined with her tireless advocacy on behalf of individual survivors—helps ensure continued reforms to prevent such failures in the future.”
Avalos regularly shares her scholarship at legal symposia throughout the United States and around the world, is a frequently cited media source, and has served as an expert witness in several sexual violence trials. Last year, she was also featured in the Netflix documentary, “Victim/Suspect,” which explores cases in which young women have been charged with falsely filing a police report, arrested, and even imprisoned after reporting a sexual assault to police.
Avalos has been instrumental in organizing a number of impactful symposia at LSU Law in recent years, including the “Improving Criminal Justice Responses to Sex Trafficking” and “Seeking Justice for Survivors of Sexual Assault” events in 2023 that brought distinguished guests such as Louisiana First Lady Donna Edwards and Judge Rosemarie Aquilina—who presided over the 2018 Ingham County, Michigan sentencing of Larry Nassar—to LSU Law for special presentations.
Before joining the LSU Law faculty, Avalos taught at Georgetown University Law Center and the University of Arkansas School of Law. She earned her J.D. from New York University School of Law and a Ph.D. in sociology from Northwestern University, from which she also holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Prior to attending law school, she taught sociology at Grinnell College in Iowa.
Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and other professionals—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential—with the opportunity to forge lasting connections, counter misunderstandings, and help people and nations work together toward common goals. The Fulbright Program is funded by an annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State, and it is managed, coordinated, and overseen by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
