Karen N. White
Biography of Karen N. White, Associate to the Chancellor
Upon assuming her role as Associate of the Chancellor, Karen White PhD, PT, is looking forward to becoming acquainted with the community and getting involved in activities at the University of California, Riverside, and within the greater Riverside area.
As the wife of the previous President of the University of Idaho, Karen enjoyed working with students, alumni, and members of the community as an ambassador for the University. She chaired the Operation Education Scholarship Program at the University. This scholarship program was the first-of-its-kind in the nation. It provides financial, academic and social support to disabled, post 9/11 veterans (and/or their spouses) while they pursue an undergraduate or graduate degree. In the past two years she helped raise over $350,000 to support this privately funded scholarship program. She has also advocated for the Operation Education program around the nation in anticipation that other colleges and universities will adopt a similar program on their campus. When not fulfilling opportunities as the wife of the President, Karen enjoys raising their active four-year-old son, Logan. The Whites also have three adult sons, Randy, Tim and Alex.
Prior to moving to Idaho, Dr. White was a member of the faculty at Oregon State University in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science. While there, she oversaw the Pre-Allied Health Major, working closely with undergraduate and graduate students interested in pursuing medical careers. She also managed three grants from the National Institutes of Health related to preventing falls and hip fractures among older adults. She enjoyed working with several colleagues and graduate students on those projects.
Prior to that Karen was a member of the faculty in the physical therapy professional programs at the University of Kansas Medical Center, and the University of Michigan - Flint. She specialized in the areas of cardiopulmonary and geriatric physical therapy. She has also worked as a physical therapist in several clinical settings.
Karen has a long-standing interest in people with disabilities. Much of her work has focused on the special needs of such individuals, including their adaptive responses to therapy and training and the accommodations necessary to help them succeed in society.
Dr. White earned all of her degrees at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, including a bachelors degree in physical therapy, a master's degree in human nutrition, and a master's and a doctoral degree in kinesiology-exercise science.