Janet Owen joined the University of Central Florida at the end of June 2018 as vice president for Government and Community Relations and associate general counsel. She previously served in that same role for the University of North Florida and as the legislative liaison for the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the State University System.
At UCF, Janet serves as the university’s principal liaison with federal and state offices and legislative bodies and oversees the university’s regional and community relations program. She is responsible for the development and implementation of strategies and programs to attain public funding goals and to foster mutually supportive, ongoing relationships with elected officials, executive branch leaders, and other education, governmental, and civic organizations.
Janet has worked on systemwide initiatives and legislation to increase efficiency and flexibility for the state universities and has served on several statewide committees to review, develop and recommend laws and policies governing Florida’s higher education institutions.
Active in her community, Janet has served on numerous local boards, chambers and non-profit arts and education organizations. She is a member of the Florida Bar’s Education Law Committee, the National Association of College and University Attorneys, the Florida Association of Professional Lobbyists and Leadership Florida’s Cornerstone Class 30. She also serves on the board of directors of the LeRoy Collins Institute, the National Center for Simulation and the Orlando Economic Partnership. She is a frequent speaker on higher education issues and has been recognized by the Jacksonville Business Journal as a Woman of Influence, an EVE Award Finalist in the field of education by the Florida Times-Union, Influence Magazine’s Capitol Cornerstones and the Orlando Business Journal’s People to Know in Government.
A Jacksonville native, Janet earned a bachelor of science in business administration from the University of Florida and her Juris Doctor from Stetson University College of Law. She spent nearly a decade in private practice before entering the field of higher education law and advocacy.