Lincoln, Neb. —John Owens, Harlan Vice Chancellor for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources from 2001 to 2010, has died. Owens, who also served during that time as vice president for agriculture and natural resources for the University of Nebraska, was respected for strengthening the university’s outreach to Nebraskans and for his focused management of budgetary challenges.
Owens began the annual Roads Scholar Tour, a key outreach initiative by which IANR acquaints new faculty to agriculture and natural resources conditions across the state, said Susan Fritz, a longtime university leader whose roles at IANR included associate vice chancellor.
The Roads Scholar Tour, as Owens intended, has particular importance by connecting university faculty to Nebraska’s communities, said Fritz, who served as the university’s executive vice president, provost and interim president before retiring in 2021.
Owens, Fritz said, was “a huge proponent of the land-grant mission and studied the Morrill Act and Justin Morrill,” the Vermont congressman whose 1862 legislation established the nation’s land-grant colleges. “That dedication to the land-grant mission was evident in the way he led.”
A notable achievement under his leadership was the university’s partnership with Iowa State University to provide veterinary training. Another step forward was creation of the Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, a collaboration among the School of Natural Resources, federal and state agencies, universities and a nonprofit.
Owens, a Texas native trained as an entomologist, joined IANR after 23 years at New Mexico State University. As IANR vice chancellor, he stood out for his “service-oriented” approach and how he “really got to know the people of the state and serve them well,” said Martin Massengale, a retired NU president who previously served as UNL chancellor and IANR vice chancellor.
Meeting students’ needs was a particular focus for Owens, Massengale said. At Owens’ retirement in 2010, he cited significant enrollment growth for IANR’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources as a key advancement during his years with the institute.
“His commitment to serve was very high,” Massengale said.
Owens managed a series of fiscal challenges at time of falling revenues and budget tightening by the state government. He “was very thoughtful and tried to be strategic where possible and tried to clearly communicate was happening,” Fritz said.
Owens showed vision in the way he viewed the complementary nature of IANR’s core missions, Fritz said. “His commitment to teaching, research and Extension was exemplary,” she said. “He didn’t see them as separate but as sharing a common mission to serve the people of Nebraska.”
In announcing his retirement plans in 2009, Owens described IANR as “one competitive academic unit full of highly accomplished people.” The institute’s future “is bright, which is good for Nebraska agriculture and natural resources, which in turn is good for Nebraska.”
