Walton Harrison Owens Jr., 88, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, died on Wednesday, March 23, 2022.
His academic focus, both in teaching and research, was the administration of public institutions. By midpoint in his career, he had devised a means to involve his methodology students in gathering data from municipal residents (Anderson and Aiken under contract) and then analyzing the material in Clemson’s budding computer center.
Years later he introduced students to the possibilities of Total Quality Management devised by the American J. Edwards Deming in post-war Japan.
He also served a sabbatical year on Carroll Campbell’s staff, spent multiple terms on the ETV Commission and devoted his final year at Clemson in 1994-1995 as president of the Faculty Senate. Afterward he continued to serve the state through work on the Commission on Higher Education.
