Dear Campus Community,
It is with much sadness that I share the news that Ms. Sara Sidebottom passed away earlier this week. Sara served our university for two decades, from May 1996 to July 2016. She spent 16 years as NKU’s General Counsel and was an alumna of Chase College of Law. Our thoughts and sympathies go out to her family and friends.
Sara served NKU during a time of remarkable expansion under former Presidents Votruba and Mearns. She guided the university’s move to Division I and helped shape NKU into the institution we are today. Sara was known for her sense of humor and for her positive attitude.
Sara’s love of education and public service was demonstrated throughout her career. She worked as a public-school teacher to put herself through law school. After earning her Juris Doctor from Chase, Sara spent 16 years as a public defender and as a prosecutor. She then served as district judge in Kenton County before moving to NKU. After retiring from the university, Sara joined Ziegler and Schneider, PSC.
A passionate advocate of women in the workplace and especially in the legal profession, Sara co-founded the Northern Kentucky Women’s Lawyer Association. She attended Chase in the 1970’s, at time when there were few women in the legal profession. As a member of the Kentucky Commission on Women for nine years, she served as vice chair and as a member of the Steering Committee for the “Governor’s Summit on the Economic Status of Kentucky’s Women.” Sara was a native of Kenton County and graduate of Villa Madonna Academy.
Sara is remembered as a mentor and role model, and her legacy will live on in the many attorneys and women she impacted. She will be greatly missed, and our deepest condolences go out to her family and friends.
Sincerely,
Ashish Vaidya
