Rate My Professor Roxanne Owens

Roxanne Owens is an Associate Professor of Teacher Education in the College of Education at DePaul University, within the Department of Teacher Education, Kinesiology, and Educational Studies. She holds a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction-Literacy and an MEd in Curriculum and Instruction-Literacy from the University of Illinois at Chicago, as well as a BS in Elementary Education from DePaul University. Before joining DePaul in 1992 as an Instructor in the School of Education, Owens taught junior high students at Our Lady of Mercy School in Chicago from 1984 to 1992. At DePaul, she progressed to Assistant Professor from 1997 to 2003 and Associate Professor from 2003 to the present. She served as Chair of the Department of Teacher Education, Kinesiology, and Educational Studies from summer 2009 to 2023, overseeing 20-26 full-time faculty, 30 adjuncts, and 700 students. Owens directed the DePaul/Glenview Clinical Model Teacher Preparation Program from 1993 to 2007 and the federally funded DePaul Learning by Association Community Technology Centers project from 1999 to 2003, managing over $1 million in grants focused on teacher development, technology, and literacy.

Owens specializes in literacy and children's literature, exploring authors, trends, classroom uses, and integration across the curriculum, alongside historical research on women's bowling and the Wings of Mercy campaign during World War II. She edits the Illinois Reading Council Journal and is a frequent speaker on topics including visual literacy, Dr. Seuss, primary sources, and resilience. Notable publications include "The Power of Storytelling for the Good Times, the Bad Times, and the Moments in Between" (The California Reader, 2023), "Oh the Places We’ll Go with Chat GPT, But Do We Want to Go There?" (The Prairie Wind, 2023), "Avoiding Pitfalls of Parent–Teacher Communication" with M. Kalchman (Pathways to Research in Education, 2022), and "Strengthening Teacher Residencies for Paraprofessionals in Special Education: Building Identity from Within" with A. Butler, B. Rieckhoff, and J. Humphrey (Journal of Teacher Education, 2025). Her achievements include DePaul University Excellence in Teaching Awards (1993-1994, 1995-1996, 2023-2024), Excellence in Public Service Award (1998-1999), Spirit of DePaul Award (2001), Illinois Reading Council Hall of Fame induction (2012), and Parents and Reading Award (2010). Owens has chaired or served on over 25 committees, such as the College of Education Executive Council, Faculty Council, and Tenure and Promotion/Personnel Committee, and presented at venues including the American Library Association National Conference and DePaul's Teaching and Learning Conference.