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A Legacy of Mentoring: Introducing the Annual William A. Owens Lecture Series for 2009 William A. Owens, affectionately known as Bill or “Doc,” was an accomplished applied psychologist, former Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology president, and influential researcher in the study of biographical data. He joined the University of Georgia in 1968, with the mission of establishing and directing a Measurement and Human Differences program, now the Applied Psychology Program (APP), and to make a difference in the lives of the students he touched. He loved the world of measurement and changed the way his colleagues and students approached the field. Former student and associate professor at Wilmington College, Dr. Mary Rose Zink, recalls, “Doc and his love of his bio-data allowed me to see beyond the limitations of just qualitative information to see that research incorporates so much more ” Bill also helped shape the face of social science research at UGA as the founder and first director of the Institute for Behavioral Research (IBR), which was built with a mission to provide support and opportunities that encourage interdisciplinary collaboration among faculty. He enjoyed the experience of witnessing researchers from unique fields join to investigate shared questions. The ideals upon which he established IBR also resonate in his approach to mentoring. Beyond his esteemed reputation and influence as a researcher, lies a legacy of Bill's devotion to empowering his students to believe in their capabilities as scholars and as people. Bill is remembered by those who knew him as a kind, gentle, and empathetic man who led through his behavior, always putting the needs of others above his own. Former IBR director, Dr. Rex Forehand, says “He embodied all that we would want from an academic and more importantly as a person.” Dr. Mike Mumford, Industrial-Organizational psychology professor at Oklahoma University and one of Bill's last students, notes: “Doc's great strength as a teacher lay in what he did outside of class.” Bill Owens truly believed that “life exists beyond numbers.” Bill's relationship with his students was built upon a foundation of trust and support. He always made himself available, and his students often felt comfortable talking with him about any topic. Zink remembers: “When I was upset about something, I could chat with him. His office door was always open and… we often had intense philosophical conversations… I left his office feeling encouraged and supported.” Bill had a unique, humble way of empowering students to push the limits of their own thoughts and ideas without inserting himself or his ego into their journey. Mumford shares this poignant story: When I first arrived in graduate school, I had a background primarily in experimental psychology. Doc never dissuaded me from my experimental interests but he made sure I appreciated individual differences and measurement. His strategy to address this issue was quite straightforward. When I arrived in graduate school, he gave me a stack of psychometric articles on creative thinking skills. He gave me a week to read them and report back. I reported back, not a good report, but nonetheless a report. Doc said little about my report. He did not need to. His point had been made. I still had a lot to learn about psychology, psychometrics and creativity. This experience has stayed with me over the years. It reminds me we always must be learning. This was doc's great strength as a teacher. He taught you that you always had to keep learning. Even after his retirement, Bill's influence on his students and colleagues remained strong. Zink enjoyed the conversations and guidance and often visited with Bill and his wife Barbara for years after leaving UGA. Forehand adds this experience: Some of the most meaningful times in my career and in my life were spent visiting Bill in the nursing home. Although I was very busy, I always found the time to visit him "for Bill's sake." However, I would quickly find on each visit that it was me, as much as Bill, profiting from and enjoying the visit. On more than one occasion when I was Director of the Institute for Behavioral Research, I would describe a problematic situation and ask Bill's opinion about what I should do. He would always wait for 5 to 10 seconds, looking directly at me, and then say "Rex, I think you know what you need to do." And he was absolutely right in that by the time he responded, I knew what I should do. This is an example of the kind of mentor, leader, and friend Bill Owens was to me. Bill Owens' legacy lives on today through the memories and lessons he instilled in his students, colleagues, and friends. His influence continues to thrive in the ideals of APP and the mission of IBR. The APP reinforces Bill's legacy of student mentorship, by emphasizing personal and professional development, tolerance for differences, and academic excellence among its students. Following Bill Owens' example, the APP encourages its students to develop, research, and apply psychological principles to raise the quality of life for working individuals and to improve organizational functioning through a commitment to teaching, research, and service. In keeping with Bill's founding vision of the program, the APP takes pride in scientist-practitioner integration, utilization of diverse perspectives, and attention to whole person development. As was so well exemplified in Bill Owens' work as a mentor, the Faculty in the APP are also strongly committed to graduate student development, evidenced by the program being consistently ranked as one of the Top 10 Ph.D. programs in the country. In 2008, two entering doctoral students (Kerrin George and Charleen Maher) received the inaugural Owens Fellowship Awards, which were established to support the education of deserving students in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. This continuing program explicitly recognizes Bill's profound contribution to mentoring graduate students with the I/O program. Kerrin George received her undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Connecticut . Her current research focuses on workplace diversity and team selection, under the direction of Dr. Gary Lautenschlager. Charleen Maher came to UGA with an undergraduate degree from the University of South Florida . Her research interests include work-family balance and workplace mentoring. The Institute for Behavioral Research honors and continues Bill's broad vision of faculty collaboration across disciplinary boundaries and his focus on life-long mentorship. Bill founded and directed the Institute for Behavioral Research (IBR) from 1970 to 1984, and the Institute continues to recognize his seminal contributions with the Annual William A. Owens Lecture series. Bill laid the ground work for the continuing structure of IBR based on his intuition about people and his faith in the ability of people to accomplish great things by working together toward common goals. In this way he envisioned the “multi-disciplinary collaborative team approach” for dealing with “problem-focused” research, an approach that subsequently has come to dominate funded research at the federal level and that provides the basis for IBRs continuing structure and its unique, continuing contribution to the dynamism of research at the University of Georgia . Accordingly, the workgroup and Center structure of IBR are continuing, and growing, legacies that reflect Bill Owens' vision of the Institute as a vehicle for life-long, mutual mentoring among faculty members undeterred by disciplinary boundaries. The Institute for Behavioral Research also honors and continues Bill's legacy through its highly successful mentoring program. The purpose of the mentoring program is to facilitate the research development of faculty members with a special emphasis on extramural funding in the behavioral and social sciences. This program attempts to institutionalize Bill's example of encouraging, mentoring, and facilitating research development among junior faculty colleagues throughout their careers. In the IBR mentoring program each participating faculty member is formally paired with one or two senior faculty members who serve as mentors. The mentors make themselves available to provide consultation concerning grant writing. In addition, the Institute for Behavioral Research provides a series of seminars concerning research funding in the social and behavioral sciences. In keeping with Bill's example, all mentors volunteer their time, making the mentoring process a commitment to human connection and growth. As Bill might have predicted, the program has been extremely successful with over 90% of former mentoring fellows submitting proposals through IBR and many developing programs of research they would not otherwise have imagined. The 2009-2010 William A. Owens Lecture Series The William A. Owens Lecture has been held each year since 2003. The lecture recognizes the founder of IBR, William A. Owens , with lectures presented by nationally known figures in the social and behavioral sciences. Appropriately, given Bill Owens' passion for mentoring and his devotion to family, for the 2009-2010 academic year the focus of the lecture series will be “Mentoring, Family, and the Workplace.” Two well known speakers will be taking part in the lecture series. On September 11, 2009 , Dr. Wendy Capser, an accomplished work-family scholar from the University of Texas at Arlington , will present the lecture “ Help or Hindrance? The Profits and Pitfalls of Family-Friendly Organizations.” On October 16, 2009 , Dr. Tammy Allen from the University of South Florida , one of the leading experts on mentoring relationships, will deliver the lecture “What do we really know about effective mentoring?” |
