It is with great sadness that we share the news that our beloved Professor Emerita Katherine “Kathy” Rowan passed away on February 27. Kathy was a treasured colleague, professor, mentor, and friend to many in our community during her 20 years with the Department of Communication (MasonCOMM). Her passing is a profound loss for the department, the university, and for all who had the privilege of knowing and working alongside her.
Kathy’s connection to George Mason began many years ago. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the Department of English in 1975 and competed on the MasonCOMM intercollegiate competitive public speaking forensics team. After graduating, her career path led her to the Smithsonian Institution Office of Public Affairs, followed by graduate study at the University of Illinois, where she earned her MA in communication and journalism, and later her PhD in the teaching of rhetoric and composition from Purdue University’s English department. In 1985, she joined Purdue University’s communication department as a full-time faculty member. She returned to the George Mason community in 2000 as a faculty member in MasonCOMM and retired in 2020.
Throughout her long career at MasonCOMM, Kathy was a gifted teacher whose passion for communication and learning inspired generations of students. She challenged those around her to think critically, communicate thoughtfully, and pursue their ideas and ambitions with confidence. Her courses in public relations, science communication, and crisis communication encouraged students to grapple with complex real-world challenges, such as explaining uncertainty, building public trust, and communicating clearly and responsibly during risk and crisis events. Her classrooms were spaces of curiosity, encouragement, and intellectual engagement, and she shaped the lives and careers of the many students she mentored. Many of her former students credit Kathy with helping them discover their confidence as communicators and scholars, as well as shaping the paths they later pursued in their professional lives.
Kathy was equally devoted as a mentor and colleague. She generously shared her time, insight, and encouragement with faculty and students alike, always supporting others in their professional and personal growth.
Over the course of her career, Kathy made significant contributions to the field of communication through her scholarship, teaching, and service. Her work explored ways scientists, institutions, and communicators can effectively convey uncertainty, risk, and evolving knowledge to the public. She focused on issues that are central challenges of today, such as climate change, environmental policy, emerging infectious disease preparedness and response, and disaster preparedness. Her work advanced understanding in the discipline, reflected her deep commitment to thoughtful, meaningful communication in both theory and practice, and appeared in many leading journals and edited volumes including Nature Climate Change, Environmental Science & Policy, EcoHealth, and the International Journal of Disaster Risk Science.
Kathy’s research was collaborative and interdisciplinary, bringing together scholars and practitioners across fields to better understand how communication can support informed decision-making in public life. She partnered with many organizations—including the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Alan Alda Center for Communication Science, and the Virginia Sea Grant program—to help advance science communication education and training for scientists, policy professionals, and communicators. She was widely respected for the rigor of her scholarship and for the way she connected academic ideas to the real-world challenges of communicating across communities, institutions, and public life.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, Kathy will be remembered for the warmth, integrity, and generosity that defined her character. She believed deeply in the power of education to transform lives and in the importance of nurturing a supportive academic environment. Those who knew her will always remember her remarkable smile—warm, genuine, and instantly welcoming. Her smile reflected the kindness and encouragement she extended so naturally to everyone. Her legacy will live on in the countless people she taught, mentored, and inspired.
Kathy’s contributions to MasonCOMM and to the field of communication will continue to resonate through the work of those she guided and the community she helped build. She will be deeply missed and fondly remembered by colleagues, students, and friends. We celebrate a life devoted to scholarship, teaching, mentorship, and genuine care for others.
The department will be working closely with Kathy’s family to plan a celebration of life on campus so that we may gather to honor her memory and reflect on the many ways she shaped our community. Details will be shared as soon as they become available.
March 17, 2026