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Title
Virginia Tech Vice Presidents Oral History with Karen DePauw Part 1, January 8, 2015 (Ms2024-082)
References
Description
Dr. Karen P. DePauw has served as the Vice President and Dean for Graduate Education since 2008. She has played an instrumental role in developing the Virginia Tech graduate program and establishing the innovative Graduate Life Center. Her commitment to creating a diverse and equitable campus environment have made her a well known and loved member of the Virginia Tech community. In this interview, she details her childhood, education, and how her experiences led to her sociology and graduate education administration work.
Growing up in Southern California, Karen was raised by her parents to be independent. With both of her parents working as teachers, education was highly valued. When entering college, she found she was not being challenged as a math major and instead found herself very interested in her anthropology and sociology classes. After switching majors and graduating with a sociology degree and a teaching credential, she began teaching Developmental Physical Education in two special ed sites in L.A.. This experience led to her deciding to earn her Master's of Science at California State Long Beach in Special Education and then her PhD in Kinesiology from Texas Woman’s University.
While pursuing her education, Karen was teaching at California State University. She was offered a position at Washington State University, working on a grant. This position eventually evolved into a tenured position and her working as the dean for the graduate school. She received a call from Virginia Tech encouraging her to apply for a position, which she decided to do.
Karen's identity as a lesbian sparked issues with the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. Karen and her partner, Shelli Fowler, were offered positions with the school, but Shelli was not approved by the Board of Visitors. This situation led Karen and Shelli to decide to stay in Blacksburg and fight the homophobia and bigotry being thrown at them. Her decision to stay was a brave and dangerous choice that allowed her to transform the Virginia Tech campus and help to create such a welcoming and diverse environment.
Growing up in Southern California, Karen was raised by her parents to be independent. With both of her parents working as teachers, education was highly valued. When entering college, she found she was not being challenged as a math major and instead found herself very interested in her anthropology and sociology classes. After switching majors and graduating with a sociology degree and a teaching credential, she began teaching Developmental Physical Education in two special ed sites in L.A.. This experience led to her deciding to earn her Master's of Science at California State Long Beach in Special Education and then her PhD in Kinesiology from Texas Woman’s University.
While pursuing her education, Karen was teaching at California State University. She was offered a position at Washington State University, working on a grant. This position eventually evolved into a tenured position and her working as the dean for the graduate school. She received a call from Virginia Tech encouraging her to apply for a position, which she decided to do.
Karen's identity as a lesbian sparked issues with the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. Karen and her partner, Shelli Fowler, were offered positions with the school, but Shelli was not approved by the Board of Visitors. This situation led Karen and Shelli to decide to stay in Blacksburg and fight the homophobia and bigotry being thrown at them. Her decision to stay was a brave and dangerous choice that allowed her to transform the Virginia Tech campus and help to create such a welcoming and diverse environment.
Type
Identifier
Ms2024-082_KarenDePauw_1