Richard L. Bowen, Ph.D. served as President of Idaho State University

Idaho State University

Idaho State University is a public university located in Pocatello, Idaho. It has outreach programs in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Falls, Boise, and Twin Falls....

 from 1985 to 2005. Bowen was also President of the University of South Dakota

University of South Dakota

The University of South Dakota ', the state’s oldest university, was founded in 1862 and classes began in 1882. Located in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States, USD is home to South Dakota's only medical school and law school. USD is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents, and its current...

. At Idaho State Bowen is credited with helping to improve the university's financial support. Idaho State's enrollment nearly doubled during his tenure as president.

Bowen holds a Ph.D.

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

 in political science

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

 from Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

. Prior to beginning his academic career Bowen served in the United States Department of State

United States Department of State

The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...

 and on the staffs of Senators Francis H. Case

Francis H. Case

Francis Higbee Case was an American journalist and politician who served for 25 years as a member of the United States Congress from South Dakota. He was a Republican.-Biography:...

, Karl Earl Mundt

Karl Earl Mundt

Karl Earl Mundt was an American educator and a Republican member of the United States Congress, representing South Dakota in the United States House of Representatives from 1938 to 1948 and in the United States Senate from 1948 to 1973.-Biography:Born in Humboldt, South Dakota, Mundt attended...

, Abraham A. Ribicoff

Abraham A. Ribicoff

Abraham Alexander Ribicoff was an American Democratic Party politician. He served in the United States Congress, as the 80th Governor of Connecticut and as President John F. Kennedy's Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare...

 and Jacob K. Javits

Jacob K. Javits

Jacob Koppel "Jack" Javits was a politician who served as United States Senator from New York from 1957 to 1981. A liberal Republican, he was originally allied with Governor Nelson Rockefeller, fellow U.S...

.

Bowen temporarily resigned as university president in the mid-1990s but was persuaded to rescind his resignation due in part to pleas from the student body to return.

Bowen was originally scheduled to retire in June 2006, but instead retired eight months earlier after the ISU Faculty Senate passed a no-confidence vote against him in light of a 28 percent salary increase for senior university administrators. http://www.sde.state.id.us/webdocs/Dailyednews/2005%20Jan-Dec%20Archive/Oct2005/05-10-04_Tuesday.htm