Dr. Robin E. Bowen, Arkansas Tech University president, is the 2020 recipient of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Region IV-West President’s Award.
According to NASPA, the award is a special recognition reserved for a college or university president who has, over a sustained period of time, “advanced the quality of student life on campus by supporting student affairs staff and programs.”
Nominees must also have direct involvement in enhancing the quality of student life on campus, participate in active attempts to involve students and student life in governing the institution and demonstrate contributions to the profession that have an impact beyond an individual campus.
NASPA Region IV-West includes institutions of higher education in Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wyoming in the United States and Manitoba and Saskatchewan in Canada.
As a regional award winner, Bowen is now a nominee for the national 2020 NASPA President’s Award.
Bowen was unanimously elected the 12th president of Arkansas Tech University by the Arkansas Tech Board of Trustees on April 22, 2014. She took office on July 1, 2014.
ATU has celebrated multiple record enrollments during the Bowen presidency, including an all-time high of 12,101 students during fall 2018. In addition, ATU has earned national acclaim from the CollegeNET Social Mobility Index as the top performing institution in Arkansas and among the top 10 percent of institutions in the U.S. when it comes to providing students with access to an enhanced economic position following graduation.
The freshman four-year graduation rate at ATU has increased by 15.8 percentage points over the past two years, while the ATU-Ozark graduation rate has increased by 13.3 percentage points over the past four years. Overall, Arkansas Tech conferred 4,072 degrees and credentials during the 2019-20 academic year, most in a single year in the history of the institution.
The institution has developed and enacted a new strategic plan, new campus master plan, new strategic plan for inclusive excellence, new mission statement and new vision statement during the Bowen administration.
Bowen is the first female president of a public, four-year university in Arkansas. She is identified by the Arkansas Business Publishing Group as one of the Arkansas 250, an annual list of the state’s top influencers and newsmakers.
In 2017, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville College of Education and Health Professions presented Bowen with an outstanding alumni award in recognition of her achievements in and contributions to higher education. She was selected as a 2016 recipient of the INSIGHT into Diversity Presidents and Chancellors Giving Back Award, the only national award that honors college presidents and chancellors for their commitment to diversity by giving back to their campus and community.
Bowen has previously been recognized as one of AY Magazine’s Most Powerful Women, and she received the Arkansas Traveler certificate from the State of Arkansas.
She received her Doctor of Education degree with an emphasis in higher education administration from Texas Tech University. She also holds a Master of Education degree in rehabilitation counseling from the University of Arkansas and a Bachelor of Science degree in occupational therapy from the University of Kansas.
Bowen and her husband, Doug, are parents of son, Brock; and daughters, Alexa and Brynn.
