MSE SEMINAR
October 16, 2009
113 McBryde Hall
3:30 – 4:30
Refreshments at 3:00
Dean Karen P. DePauw
Vice President and Dean for Graduate Education
Graduate School, Blacksburg, VA
“Graduate Students Today, Global Scholars for Tomorrow”
Karen P. DePauw is Vice President and Dean for Graduate Education and tenured Professor in the
Departments of Sociology and Human Nutrition, Foods & Exercise at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Prior to employment at VT, she served 22 years on the faculty and as an administrator at Washington State
University. Since her arrival at Virginia Tech, her major accomplishments include success in building a strong
diverse graduate community, the establishment of the innovative Graduate Life Center (GLC), and the
signature initiative known as Transformative Graduate Education (TGE). As Graduate Dean, she teaches three
graduate courses: Preparing the Future Professoriate, Citizen Scholar Seminar, and PFP: Global Perspectives
seminar annually.
As an academic administrator, she has been a strong advocate for diversity and equity in higher education
and has spoken at national conferences on changing roles and responsibilities of faculty, preparing the
future professoriate and change facing the 21st century university. Dr. DePauw has held several leadership
roles in graduate education. She was a founding member and Facilitator/Chair for the Virginia Council of
Graduate School (VCGS), served as President of the Council of Southern Graduate Schools (CSGS) 20072008 and currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS).
She has been a panelist, speaker and presenter at regional affiliates (CSGS, WAGS) and national CGS
meetings and workshops. In addition, she has been an invited speaker for NSF IGERT meetings and NSF
Advance conferences and workshops.
Dr. DePauw is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of adapted physical activity, disability sport
and disability studies. She has published extensively (75+ books, journal articles and chapters), presented
keynote and scholar lectures (more than 150) around the world. At WSU and VT, she has served as major
advisor for 40+ graduate students and served on 50+ committees. Her scholarship has focused on
inclusion, equity issues, social construction of disability, and sociology of the body. In recognition of her
scholarly contributions, she was elected as a member of the American Academy for Kinesiology & Physical
Education (AAKPE) in 1997. Throughout her academic career, she has served in leadership positions for
national and international associations, received numerous honors and awards and has worked extensively
with the United States Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee and the Olympic &
Paralympic Congresses since 1984.
Dr. DePauw earned the A.B. in Sociology from Whittier College, M.S. in Special Education from California
State University, Long Beach, and a Ph.D. in Kinesiology from Texas Woman’s University. In the 1970s,
she taught with the Los Angeles City and Los Angeles County Schools and California State University – Los
Angeles before moving to Washington State University.