Tennessee Tech’s Robert Owens Named to Cookeville Lifestyle’s “Most Influential People” List

By Jonathan Frank Tennessee Tech University Chief Diversity Officer Robert Owens is not a native of theCookeville region – but you sure wouldn’t know it. The four-time Tech alumnus and seasoned university administrator originally hails from the rural town of Walter Hill, near Murfreesboro, but has been closely connected to the Upper Cumberland ever since coming to Tech 30 years ago as a freshman engineering student. After more than a generation of teaching, coaching, pastoring and leading in PutnamCounty, it’s safe to say Owens is now a bona fide Cookevillian, but if additional localcredentials were ever needed, he just got them: Owens was recently named to CookevilleLifestyle’s 2023 “most influential people” list. The quarterly magazine, which just celebrated its first anniversary, included Owens as oneof only 12 names to claim a spot on the coveted list in their winter 2023 edition. Anaccompanying feature story on Owens details how he “serves the students who walkthrough his doors with empathy and a commitment to their brightest possible outcomes.” Owens says he was “blown away” by the recognition. “It means that some of the work thatI’ve done in my professional career here, but also in my life in general, has been recognizedand that...