Owen Novak

Background

Owen Novak is on the faculty of the Department of Communication & Media and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. Before Porter, Owen produced video and podcasts for a media company.

Owen's research focuses on organizational communication, with related work in technical and professional writing; undergraduates are involved in the lab most terms.

Areas of expertise

• Organizational communication
• Technical and professional writing
• Undergraduate research and project mentoring

Teaching

Owen regularly teaches courses in Communication Studies, Professional & Technical Communication, English. Specific sections and syllabi are listed in the class schedule each term.

Courses lean on current problems from the field: students read recent work, reproduce a result or method, and then extend it. Owen builds in low-stakes practice before graded work and gives written feedback on drafts.

Advising and office hours

Owen advises students in the Communication & Media programs and holds weekly office hours during the fall and spring terms, posted on the office door and in the course pages. Prospective students are welcome to email to arrange a visit or a call.

Advising conversations usually cover course sequencing, whether to add a minor or a concentration, and how classroom work connects to internships, research, or graduate study. Students who are undecided are welcome; part of the job is helping them narrow things down.

Recent and representative work

Owen's recent activity is a mix of peer-reviewed work, conference talks, and student-involved projects in organizational communication and technical and professional writing. Representative items:

• A peer-reviewed article on organizational communication in a disciplinary journal.
• A conference paper on technical and professional writing, co-authored with an undergraduate researcher.
• An internally funded project applying organizational communication to a regional partner's problem.

Titles and venues here are illustrative. UW–Porter Falls is fictional; Owen has no real publication record.

Get in touch

The fastest way to reach Owen is email (onovak@uwporterfalls.edu); messages during the fall and spring terms are usually answered within two business days. Prospective students and families can ask the Communication & Media department office to set up a call, a class visit, or a meeting during an admitted-student day.