While studying political science at the University of Colorado in the mid-1980s, Ken Rutherford decided to work in international development. Since graduating in 1985, he has worked in Africa for the Peace Corps (Mauritania), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Senegal), and International Rescue Committee (Kenya and Somalia). In 1993, he earned his MBA at the University of Colorado.
After losing his legs to a landmine in Somalia in 1993, he earned his doctorate at Georgetown University, and has traveled worldwide to speak out to promote awareness of the mass suffering caused by these weapons and for the economic and social rights for the landmine disabled. In 1997, Ken help guide Diana, Princess of Wales, on her final humanitarian trip to Bosnia to meet with a range of landmine survivors and their families.
Rutherford has testified before congress and published articles on the landmine issue in academic and policy journals. Rutherford was co-recipient of the 1999 Leadership in International Rehabilitation Award presented by the Northwestern University Institute for International Rehabilitation and is co-founder of the Landmine Survivors Network, which serves on the coordinating committee of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize.
As an advocate for people with disabilities affected by landmines, he has appeared on all the major network evening news shows, Dateline, Nightline, and National Public Radio's Morning Edition and All Things Considered. His personal story of recovering from his accident to pursue his dreams of marrying his fiancé, have children and becoming a professor have been profiled by the Oprah Winfrey show, Reader's Digest and the BBC.
In November 2004, Dr. Rutherford was inducted into the University of Colorado Heritage Center's "Hall of Excellence," a permanent exhibit at the University of Colorado at Boulder that honors outstanding alumni who have gained national and international recognition.
Rutherford's has co-edited two books: Reframing the Agenda: The Impact of NGO and Middle Power Cooperation in International Security Policy (Greenwood Press) and Landmines and Human Security: The International Movement to Ban Landmines (State University of New York Press). Dr. Rutherford has published in numerous academic and policy journals, including World Politics, Journal of International Politics, Journal of International Peace, Alternatives, Non-Proliferation Review and Security Dialogue.
Dr. Rutherford has presented at disability conferences at the United Nations in New York and in Bahrain, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, and landmine conferences in Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Burkina Faso, Canada, El Salvador, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Thailand, United Kingdom, South Africa, Switzerland, In addition, he has presented academic papers at various academic conferences around the world, including the Africa Studies Association, American Political Science Association, International Studies Association, the Middle East Studies Association and the National Security Studies Section of the International Studies Association.
Dr. Rutherford currently serves on the board of advisors or directors of the Landmine Survivors Network (Washington, D.C.), Center for Unconventional Security Affairs at the University of California at Irvine, the Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Foundation (Springfield, Missouri) and the United Nations Association of the United States of America Adopt-A-Minefield program (New York, New York).
From February to June 2005, Dr. Rutherford served on a State Department Fulbright Fellowship in Jordan, where he was appointed to the faculty at the University of Jordan in Amman. He taught International Politics and researched Jordan's leadership role in the Arab in alleviating the negative effects of landmine use and promoting the rights and dignity of people with disabilities.
Since being injured in Somalia, he married CU graduate Kim Schwers (class of 1989), helps raise their four children (Hayden (9), Campbell (8), Duncan (6) and Lucie (4) as Bronco fans and teaches international relations at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri.