DelVal Appoints Alumnus to Board

Delaware Valley College has appointed Laura Owen, a CEO and an alumnus of DelVal’s business administration program, to its Board of Trustees.

Owen, a resident of Olathe, Kan., has a strong personal connection to the college and brings experience in a variety of areas to the Board.

“It is a tremendous honor to be asked to serve on the Board of Trustees at Delaware Valley College, especially at this exciting time in DelVal’s history,” said Owen. “I am a 1979 graduate of DelVal, and my mother taught English here for many years, so it is particularly heartwarming to be a part of this very special place, once again.”

Owen is CEO of PontSalus, a firm committed to reducing healthcare costs and increasing access to quality healthcare, worldwide, by facilitating relationships with best-in-class healthcare leaders in North America (medical providers, medical universities, corporations, not-for-profit organizations, and government), to support healthcare transformation.

She was also the first woman appointed Kansas Secretary of Commerce, where she led international trade, business development, and travel and tourism, for the State of Kansas.

In addition to her service on numerous state boards and commissions, she served on the board of Heart to Heart International, a global humanitarian organization which delivers medicine and medical supplies to areas of need, for ten years,

In 2007, she was named to the “Women Who Mean Business” organization, by the Kansas City Business Journal.

Owen feels a strong connection to DelVal because she had a positive experience as an undergraduate and because her late mother taught at the college.

She was the DelVal Commencement speaker in 1991 and has remained an active and involved member of the college community.

In November 2011, she was selected as the 11th Thomas W. Watson Executive in Residence speaker. The series brings in business leaders to share real world experiences and lessons with current students. In her speech, Owen shared inspiring and thoughtful lessons from her life and career with current students and encouraged them to think of their lives as full of possibilities.

Her career has given her the opportunity to travel frequently and she is a big believer in making sure students have a global perspective. She feels that opportunities to travel help students develop a greater respect for other cultures and a greater understanding of global issues and opportunities.

She is also a big supporter of giving students opportunities to gain leadership experience.

One of her personal commitments as a board member will be to assist with the development of a leadership program at DelVal, which would include classroom training, mentorship programs, internship programs, and guest speakers to share with students about what it takes to be an effective leader.