Andrew J. Mowen

Prior to joining Penn State as a faculty member, Dr. Mowen began his career as the Research and Program Evaluation Manager for Cleveland Metroparks. His scholarship seeks to maximize the impact of local parks in achieving important social, economic, environmental and health benefits.

Dr. Mowen has worked with numerous park conservancies, foundations, friend organizations, and businesses to assess the impact of park investments with regard to these outcomes.  He served as lead investigator for NRPA’s national study of Americans’ use of local parks and their nationwide study of local elected and appointed officials. He was also principal investigator for the national award winning 2014-2018 Pennsylvania Outdoor Recreation Plan and conducted the research to inform Pennsylvania State Parks’ strategic planning process – Penn’s Parks for All.  With regard to urban parks, he is currently spearheading an evaluation of Philadelphia’s Civic Commons investments.

Dr. Mowen’s research and viewpoints have been published in numerous leisure, health, and community journals, magazines, and textbooks.  He served a board member for the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation and chaired the community recreation, fitness, and parks sector sub-committed for the U.S. National Physical Activity Plan. Dr. Mowen is also member of the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration and was the 2018 recipient of the Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt Award for Excellence in Recreation and Park Research.