Summary
Randall Owen joined the College of Education & Human Development as the Director of the Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities (NCED) and Associate Professor in Special Education. Randall has 15 years of experience conducting research on and with people with disabilities to better understand the impact of policies on their lived experiences. Primarily he has explored healthcare and employment policies across the United States and in Australia and the United Kingdom. Randall has been the Principal Investigator on many grants, including from the federal government, state departments and agencies, and local organizations. He is a mixed-methods researcher, with extensive experience conducting interviews and survey research. Among his areas of interest are disability studies, human rights, inclusion, diversity, leadership, accessibility, family support, and civic engagement.
Originally from West Michigan, Randall completed undergraduate work at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. He earned a Ph.D. in Disability Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and joined the faculty of their Department of Disability and Human Development and served as the Associate Director of the Institute on Disability and Human Development, the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities for Illinois. For the last year, Randall has conducted research with the University of California, San Francisco. Randall is looking forward to bringing his unique skills, perspective, and experiences to the University of Nevada, Reno, and the NCED and exploring new collaborations and opportunities within the College and across Nevada.
Education
Ph.D., Disability Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago