Roderic Owen, Ph.D.

A professor of philosophy, Dr. Roderic Owen has been a faculty member at Mary Baldwin University for over twenty-five years teaching introductory philosophy courses, applied and advanced ethics seminars, and a survey of the world's religions to a diverse range of students. His doctorate is from the College of William and Mary, and his dissertation was focused on Models for Teaching Ethics at the Undergraduate Level.

Over the past several years, Dr. Owen has developed and taught a graduate seminar primarily focused on ethics and education and two honors colloquia focused on the relationship between the natural sciences and religion and on the implications of evolutionary psychology for ethics. He has also helped implement ethics and community service-learning courses and internships; created a multi-disciplinary minor focused on Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution; and worked to establish civic-engagement connections in Tamil Nadu, India. Dr. Owen is currently serving as a Fellow of the Spencer Center for Civic and Global Engagement, and he has been selected as a participant in seminars offered by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Humanities Center.

Dr. Owen’s areas of philosophical research and professional interest include character education; interdisciplinary approaches to the teaching of ethics; and interfaith dialogue. His most recent sabbatical was spent at a women’s college in Madurai, India where he led faculty seminar on Interfaith Issues and gave talks at the local Gandhi Centre. He is a member of the APA, the regional Philosophy of Education Society, the Virginia Humanities Association, the Association for Ethics across the Curriculum, and the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, and he has presented numerous papers at conferences held by these academic organizations.