Reports To

Associate Dean, Academic Affairs, Social Behavioral Sciences and Human Services

Biography Information

Dr. Mowell has been on the faculty of Broward College since 1996. He is actively involved in research/publishing and to date has authored or edited 4 books and several articles for academic journals (most recently in the Journal of Geography). He has also contributed to numerous books including a chapter on "The History of Massachusetts" for the Cultural Encyclopedia of New England (Yale University Press) and articles on "The Treaty of Rome", "Maastricht Treaty", and "The Economy of Latvia" for the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Global Business. Currently he is working on a 5th book to be published by the National Council of Geographic Education: SubSaharan Africa in the Classroom. His most recent conference presentation was for the Georgia Political Science Association: From "Settlers" to "Refugees": A Paradigm Shift in Geopolitical and Public Opinion Perspectives Concerning the Forgotten Refugees of North Africa and Southwest Asia.

Mowell enjoys community service projects and is the former President of the Fort Lauderdale Kiwanis Club. He has received several civic awards including being named "Kiwanian of the Year". He has served on the board of directors of several charitable and civic organizations such as "A Child Is Missing, Inc.". He has also served on several governmental advisory boards including the Board of Commissioners of the Central Broward Water Control District and the Educational Facilities Authority of the Broward County Commission. He currently serves as the Republic of Latvia's Honorary Consul to the State of Florida. He is a member of the Consular Corps of Miami/Ft. Lauderdale and a member of the National Association of Foreign Consuls in the United States. He has assisted several Florida-based NGOs with obtaining formal status with the United Nations and serves as the United Nations representative for 2 NGOs.

He has served as Honors Program Coordinator for Central Campus and on numerous BC committees including: Curriculum Committee, General Education Task Force, Central Campus Honors Committee, Collegewide Honors Committee, and Faculty Senate. He is a member of numerous professional organizations including: the National Council for Geographic Education, Florida Society of Geographers, Georgia Political Science Association, National Geographic Society, and he is a Fellow of the Royal (British) Geographical Society.

While at BC, Dr. Mowell has been named Professor of the Year, and received other teaching awards including the A. Hugh Adams Endowed Teaching Chair, Classroom Research Award, and was a finalist for the Florida Association of Community Colleges (statewide) Professor of the Year award. He is currently the Sensormatic Electronics Corporation Endowed Teaching Chair at Broward College.

Teaching Philosophy

If you can make class and the subject fun and you can impress upon students how the subject matter (geography/history) is relevant and important, then the learning experience is made all the more meaningful. The single greatest thing an educator can accomplish is to spark an interest in students and help to instill within them an innate curiosity and desire to learn more about a subject. If you can enable students to like/enjoy a subject and develop an interest in it, hopefully they will continue to learn about the subject long after the class has concluded.

Also, it is important to not permit the immaturity and bad behavior of one student (or a few) to undermine the learning experience for everyone else in class. It is o.k. to have fun but there should be zero tolerance for disruptive or rude behavior. Students should clearly understand their role in the classroom as opposed to that of the instructor.