Provost Bio

Karlyn Crowley

Provost

Education

• B.A., Earlham College
• M.A., Ph.D., University of Virginia

About

Ohio Wesleyan University appointed Karlyn Crowley, Ph.D. on July 1, 2020, as its provost, the senior officer overseeing OWU's academic offerings and operations, including The OWU Connection.

Crowley was the interim assistant vice president for academic affairs and an English professor at St. Norbert College – a private Catholic liberal arts college with 2,200 students – in De Pere, Wisconsin.

Crowley joined St. Norbert in 2002. She was appointed interim assistant vice president for academic affairs in January, helping to oversee academic operations tied to service-learning, inclusion and identity, undergraduate research, the honors program, the library, and faculty development.

In that role, her work included helping align academic goals with strategic plans, promoting shared governance and decision-making, collaborating with the registrar to enhance student-centered processes, and aiding with academic affairs restructuring.

Prior to accepting her previous position at St. Norbert, Crowley's roles included serving as interim associate dean, founding director of the Cassandra Voss Center (an endowed equity center), founding chair of women's and gender studies, and professor of English. She also consults as a peer-reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission, which accredits colleges and universities, including Ohio Wesleyan.

As a scholar, Crowley's publications include the books "Feminism's New Age: Gender, Appropriation, and the Afterlife of Essentialism" (2011) and "Better Mettle: Smarter Social Justice" (expected in 2021), along with numerous articles related to literature, field analysis, and pedagogy; she also writes for higher-education publications such as Inside Higher Ed. She is a faculty fellow for the Colorado-based HERS Women's Higher Education Executive Leadership Institute.

Crowley earned both a doctorate in English and a Master of Arts in English with a certificate in women's studies from the University of Virginia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and women's and gender studies from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana.

At Ohio Wesleyan, Crowley reports to President Matthew P. vandenBerg, Ed.D., CFRE.

She said she enjoys joining Ohio Wesleyan's President's Cabinet and collaborating with colleagues to support OWU's educational mission and its students.

"As one of the 'Colleges that Change Lives,' Ohio Wesleyan embodies all that I believe in – challenging academics, civic engagement and service to the community, a commitment to equity and inclusion, and the development of the whole person," Crowley said. "OWU is the best of what a residential liberal arts college can be. I can imagine no better culmination of my liberal-arts passions and experience than leading OWU academics."