Rita Owens

EXPERTISE/RESEARCH/TEACHING INTERESTS

Rita R. Owens teaches business writing and communication skills for managers in the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. For over twenty-five years, she has taught writing and communication courses to undergraduates and graduate students.  At Boston College, she previously taught in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences. 

Owens’ writing instruction is deeply rooted in her experience as a higher education technology executive, and she specializes in the use of technology in teaching and learning. She was principal investigator for The MediaKron Project, funded by The Davis Educational Foundation, which received both a Teaching with New Media Award and an Academic Technology Innovation Grant.

Until June 2014, when she returned to full-time teaching, Owens was the Executive Director for Academic Technology at Boston College. In that role, she advised and represented the Provost and Dean of Faculties on technology-related matters. She provided direction for student information systems as well as for eTeaching initiatives at Boston College.

Owens has worked as a consultant with a variety of software companies and universities. She designs and delivers business communication seminars for customer service experts and other executives.
 

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Books

• Communication for Consultants, Business Expert Press, 2016

Articles

• Student Financial Services (with Bernie Pekala), chapter in Student Academic Services, Gary L. Kramer and Associates, Jossey-Bass, 2003
• SEM as a Driver for Institutional Change, chapter in Revolutionizing SEM, AACRAO, 2001
• Project Delta (with Frank B. Campanella), chapter in Best Practices for Student Services in the 21st Century, SCUP, 1999
• CoRSS Registration at Boston College: A Successful On-line Approach, College and University, Fall 1983 (with Louise Lonabocker)

AWARDS AND HONORS

• Coughlin Distinguished Teaching Award for Graduate Teaching, 2017