AB, University of Georgia,
1969, MA, 1970;
PhD, Georgia State University, 1985.
Patricia Owen-Smith earned an A.B. degree in English and a M.A. in Psychology from the University of Georgia and her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Georgia State University. Prior to coming to Oxford in 1986 she directed a large domestic violence program in the city of Atlanta while also maintaining a private practice in child, adolescent, and family therapy. She established Oxford College's Women's Studies Program and has been an active contributor to Emory University's Women's Studies Program, Emory Women's Center, and numerous women's organizations in the larger community.
Dr. Owen-Smith's research is in the area of poverty and women, specifically the effect of poverty on the development of adolescent females. Her qualitative analysis of "Resiliency in Homeless Women" has earned her several grants and the 1996 Research of the Year Award from the Georgia Psychological Association. She is also the recipient of numerous teaching awards including the Phi Theta Kappa and Mizel Awards for Excellence in Teaching and Emory University's Faculty Appreciation Award for Innovative Teaching. Dr. Owen-Smith was a member of the first delegation of Women's Studies Scholars to Belarus and Russia. She has been named a Pew Scholar with the National Fellowship Program of the Carnegie Foundation's Teaching Academy.