| Owen Roberts
has taught agricultural communications in the Ontario Agricultural
College since 1995. He has held the position of director
of research communications at the University of Guelph for
nearly 20 years, and started a program called Students Promoting
Awareness of Research Knowledge (SPARK) which has been adopted
by 20 other Canadian universities. The programs he coordinates
have won awards or been recognized by the Ontario Agri-Food
Innovation Awards, the Canadian Council for the Advancement
of Education, the Association of Communications Excellence
and the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation awards.
Owen’s journalism and communications career began
as a reporter and editor in Ontario and Alberta. Today,
besides his teaching and administrative work at the University
of Guelph, Owen is active as a journalist, most notably
as the agri-food columnist for the Guelph Daily Mercury.
He also contributes to various other regional and national
agri-food publications, including Better Farming, The Grower,
Farms.com, CBC’s Commentary on the Canadian Farm Business
Management Council website, and Farm Credit Canada’s
AgriSuccess Express and Journal. His students contribute
the majority of the editorial content for the 4-H Ontario
magazine, and for the SHARE Agriculture Foundation. Owen
is a native of Mitchell’s Bay, Ontario. He holds a
Bachelor of Arts (communications) from the University of
Windsor, a Masters of Science (rural extension studies)
from the University of Guelph, and is a candidate for a
Doctorate of Education (agricultural education) from Texas
A&M University and Texas Tech University.
In 2005, Owen was named an honourary professional agrologist
by the Ontario Institute of Agrologists.
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