Senate Chair Owens to Retire After Nearly Four Decades at Drexel

This message was shared with faculty and professional staff members on Tuesday, June 9, 2026.

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing to share that Kevin Owens, PhD, associate professor of chemistry and Chair of the Faculty Senate, will be retiring from Drexel University in August after nearly four decades of service to this institution. In recognition of his contributions, Senate Chair Owens has been granted the title of Associate Professor Emeritus of Chemistry — an honor that reflects the lasting impact he has had on Drexel.

Senate Chair Owens joined Drexel in 1987 and has spent his career as a researcher, teacher, and since 2018, as the faculty's most consequential institutional voice. As Senate Chair during a pivotal time for Drexel, he helped ensure faculty voices were at the center.

When I became Provost in 2019, Senate Chair Owens was among the first people I called. It was clear to me the work ahead to strengthen Drexel academically and structurally would require a genuine partnership with Faculty Senate. I reached out with that in mind, though I could not have anticipated then the full scope of what we would take on together.

In the years that followed, I established Academic Council, with Senate Chair Owens' support, to create a formal channel between Senate leadership and the broader academic and administrative leadership of the University. Kevin and I also instituted weekly meetings, which became a consistent throughline of our work together.

When Academic Transformation was formally embraced by the University, Senate Chair Owens served as Co-Sponsor alongside me, ensuring the faculty perspective shaped the work. His Senate tenure also included collaborative leadership roles with University administration on Drexel 2030, the University Advisory Committee on Academic Structure, the presidential search that brought Antonio Merlo to Drexel, and his work on Executive Council.

Senate Chair Owens has also been, throughout all of this, a dedicated teacher and researcher. His work in analytical chemistry and mass spectrometry represents a distinguished body of work. His commitment to students is as much a part of who he is as the other roles he took on.

There is something I will carry from working with Senate Chair Owens: his reminder, offered more than once and always with conviction, that when we come to the table to work through difficult things, we need to "put on our Drexel hat." He meant it literally and figuratively, and he wore his hat proudly. That kind of orientation — putting the institution and the people it serves ahead of any single interest or position — defines Senate Chair Owens's legacy at Drexel.

I wish him well in everything ahead.

Sincerely,

Paul E. Jensen, PhD
Executive Vice President
Nina Henderson Provost