Karen Rohrbauck Stout

Karen Rohrbauck Stout received her BA from the University of Puget Sound, her M.A. from The University of Montana, and her Ph.D. from the University of Utah.

She joined the Communication Studies department at Western in 2000. Through a variety of service, volunteer, and committee positions on campus and off, she has developed a lengthy list of leadership experiences. Most notably, she served as the President of the Northwest Communication Association in 2008 (which is a small regional conference devoted to fostering undergraduate research), two consecutive terms as the President of the Faculty Senate (after many years of service as a Senator and Secretary to the Executive Council), and 6 years on the Executive Board for the United Faculty of Western Washington. In 2014 she became the director of the Karen W. Morse Institute for Leadership and the Bowman Distinguished Professor of Leadership. In this role, she advises students in the Leadership Studies minor, teaches GUR classes on leadership, supervises a small group of adjunct Leadership Studies faculty, and provides leadership related programming for the campus and community. Her most important leadership role at Western is to foster students’ personal development so that they can become the leaders they want in order to effect the social change most important to them.

Stout has received a career achievement award for her service to the Northwest Communication Association and teaching awards from the International Communication Association and the National Society of Leadership and Success among other honors.