Joining us today Dr. Karen Petersen is the 13th President of Hendrix College, taking office on June 1, 2023. A native of northwest Arkansas, she joined the Hendrix community from the University of Tulsa, where she served as Dean of the Henry Kendall College of Arts and Sciences and was a professor of political science.
Before her time in Tulsa, Karen spent 16 years at her undergraduate alma mater, Middle Tennessee State University, rising through progressively senior leadership roles and ultimately serving as Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, the university’s largest academic unit. She earned both her master’s degree and Ph.D. in political science from Vanderbilt University.
She and her husband, Joey Keasler, a northeast Arkansas native, are the parents of two children.
