In new role, Owen will guide Duke’s Learning Innovation and Lifetime Education growth planning and business functions.
Beth Owen, a seasoned finance professional in higher education, has been named the first Assistant Vice Provost of Finance & Business Administration for Duke’s Learning Innovation & Lifetime Education (LILE) unit.
In this role, she will provide overall administrative management and coordination of various business-related functions including finance, budget, personnel, space and facilities planning, grant administration, academic support, and policy interpretation and dissemination as the highest-level business management administrator within LILE.
Owen will join July 1 after her interim position in this role comes to an end. She brings essential Duke experience, holding programmatic and administrative roles within Fuqua, the Robertson Scholars Leadership Program, Duke Medicine Global, and the Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE) since 2009.
“Beth brings the strategic finance experience we need to help us plan for scaling digital education programs for growth over the next few years,” said Dr. Yakut Gazi, Vice Provost for Learning Innovation and Digital Education. “I am excited by her enthusiasm and creativity in this space, and for her inclusive style as a collaborator as we work to put Duke on the map as a powerhouse for learning innovation and lifetime education.”
Before her return to Duke, Beth pursued a unique opportunity to serve as the director of a traditional summer sleepaway camp for girls aged 8 to 16 in northern Wisconsin. Drawn to the opportunity to directly impact many lives – both the 200 campers who enroll each summer and the 50 summer staffers hired to support camp operations – she returned to Duke fulfilled after revamping camp operations over two years, making such an important and vital experience sustainable for the future.
“I thrive when working with a team, bouncing ideas off colleagues and learning through interactions with other professionals,” said Owen. “I am excited about LILE’s trajectory and opportunity for impact, and am thrilled to become a part of such an innovative organization.”