Karen Owen, Ph.D.

Dean of University College and Honors College, Associate Professor, and Director of the Thomas B. Murphy Center
Dean's Office University College

678-839-5190
kowen@westga.edZPxY5vY3SQDC5FJpUGLHJLb2q5EgNbq5S6E7yfN6klJXEr13cTe4I1MOu

Technology Learning Center - Room 3234

Karen Owen, Ph.D.

Karen L. Owen, Ph.D. is an associate professor of political science and the director of The Thomas B. Murphy Center for Public Service at the University of West Georgia.  She is a gender politics and American institutions scholar.  Her recent books include Special Elections: The Backdoor Entrance to Congress and Women Officeholders and the Role Models Who Pioneered the Way.  She has published articles on congressional elections, state legislative partisanship, and women serving within local levels of government and trial courts.  Owen joined the 2020 American Enterprises Institute’s (AEI) Leadership Network.  Dr. Owen was awarded the American Political Science Association's Women, Gender, and Politics Public Engagement Award (2021). She is also the recipient of the University of West Georgia’s Outstanding Junior Faculty Award and the Best of the West Award for Strategic Imperative.   Previously, Owen served as a faculty member at Reinhardt University where she received the Elizabeth Bailey Moss Mentoring Award (2017) and the Jane England Outstanding Teaching Excellence Award (2016).  Owen received her masters degree and doctorate from the University of Georgia.  Prior to her academic work, she worked as a legislative assistant to a U.S. Representative from Georgia, as a lobbyist at a Fortune 500 company, and as a public health legislative analyst at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Spring 2025 Sections

Summer 2024 Sections

Fall 2023 Sections

Summer 2023 Sections

Fall 2022 Sections

Summer 2022 Sections

Spring 2022 Sections

Fall 2021 Sections

Summer 2021 Sections

Spring 2021 Sections

Fall 2020 Sections