Owen's career at UAF began in 1984 at Tanana Valley Community College. Since then, he has continually found his place working in the service of Alaska's students, faculty, and researchers. Among his diverse roles, Owen had the pleasure of serving Michigan's Olivet College as Director of IT for four years during an inspiring time of teaching and learning transformation.

Owen returned to UAF in 2013 to join eCampus, where he was appointed Executive Director in 2018. In this role, he displayed a passion for innovation, expanding access to education and modernizing the student experience. Owen was an instructor of online pedagogy and instructional design for the masters of online innovation and design program at UAF School of Education for eight years, and played a key role in UAF's Strategic Enrollment Planning efforts starting in 2018, serving as acting associate vice chancellor for enrollment management in spring of 2021.

Owen holds a B.S. from Colorado State University in Wildlife Biology as well as an M.A. in Military History from Norwich University. In addition to his current leadership role at UAF, Owen has served as President of the Board of Directors of the Interior Alaska Land Trust for nine years. He works with community partners on conservation projects across the Interior.