March 17, 2017
For Immediate Release
By Joan C. McKinney, coordinating director, Office of University Communications
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Dr. Joseph L. Owens, former chair of the Campbellsville University Board of Trustees, will be the guest speaker for the university’s annual Heritage Day observance at chapel Wednesday, March 22 at 10 a.m. in Ransdell Chapel at 401 N. Hoskins Ave., Campbellsville.
Owens is the longest-serving chair of the board having served five terms. He has been a member of the board since 2004.
Henry Lee of Campbellsville, former president of Taylor County Bank and now a partner in Squires & Lee, PLLC, certified public accountants, became board chair in February.
Owens is the senior pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Lexington, Ky., where he has served 14 years.
He graduated from Campbellsville University in 1977 obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in Christian Studies. He received the 2009 Campbellsville University Distinguished Alumni Award.
Owens graduated from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1980 with a master of divinity and a master of religious education. In 2000, he graduated from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio with a doctor of ministry degree.
He served as pastor at Second Baptist Church in Vincennes, Ind. for seven years and at Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Midway, Ky. for 11 years.
Owens has said if it weren’t for his experiences as a student at CU, Owens very well may have never accepted Christ into his life or received his call into the ministry. He holds a genuine devotion and appreciation for Campbellsville University that will be seen while serving as chair of the board of trustees.
Owens has said he met his wife, Elizabeth, at Campbellsville University and said his “heart has been wrapped in this campus ever since.” He and his wife, also a 1977 graduate of Campbellsville University, have two children, Charisa Jené and John Mark. Mrs. Owens is employed with the Fayette County School System.
Campbellsville University is a widely-acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 4,500 students offering over 80 programs of study including 19 master’s degrees, six postgraduate areas and seven pre-professional programs. The university has off-campus centers in Louisville, Harrodsburg, Somerset and Hodgenville with instructional sites in Elizabethtown, Owensboro and Summersville and a full complement of online programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.