Biography
Ryan Owens, Ph.D., earned his doctorate in Political Science from Washington University in Saint Louis in 2008. Dr. Owens is a Professor of Political Science and Affiliate Faculty in the FSU College of Law. He also is an Honorary Fellow in the Institute for Legal Studies. Owens studies law and courts and American political institutions. His work analyzes the United States Supreme Court, the United States Courts of Appeals, legal institutions, and judicial behavior. Professor Owens’s work has appeared in the American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Political Research Quarterly, the Georgetown Law Journal, the William & Mary Law Review, the University of Illinois Law Review, Law & Society Review, and the Journal of Law and Courts.
Owens received grants from the National Science Foundation, the Harvard Provost, the University of Wisconsin Graduate School, the Center for Empirical Research in the Law, and the George H.W. Bush Library Foundation. He also received the first undergraduate mentoring award given by the UW-Madison Office of the Provost.
From 2011-2024, Owens was a Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the George C. and Carmella P. Edwards Professor of American Politics. Between 2008 and 2011, Owens was Assistant Professor of Government at Harvard University, where he taught undergraduates and graduate students and seminars in the law school. Prior to graduate school, Owens practiced law. Professor Owens grew up in Kronenwetter, Wisconsin. He is co-owner of the Green Bay Packers, along with roughly 360,760 others.
Education
2008 PhD Washington University in St. Louis
2005 MA Washington University in St. Louis
2001 JD University of Wisconsin-Madison
1998 BA University of Wisconsin-Madison
Selected Publications
–The Effects of Cognitive Aging on Federal Judges. Forthcoming 2024. Oxford University Press. (With Ryan C. Black and Patrick Wohlfarth).
-“How the Intensity of Preference for Ideological Judges Influences Court Support.” Political Research Quarterly (With Christopher Krewson)
-“Televised Oral Arguments and Judicial Legitimacy: An Initial Assessment.” Political Behavior.

Ryan Owens
Professor & Director of the Florida Institute on Governance and Civics
Specialization: Law and Courts, American Politics, Institutions
Areas of Interest: Law and Courts, American Politics, Institutions
Bellamy 547 (By Appointment)