Francis Y Owusu

Francis Owusu

Position
  • Professor
Dr. Francis Owusu is a Professor at the Department of Community and Regional Planning, Iowa State University (ISU), USA. He is also an affiliated faculty of the African and African American Studies program and the Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture. He received a B.A. (Hons) in Geography and Archaeology and an MA in Population Studies from the University of Ghana, an M.A. in Geography from Carleton University in Canada, and a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Minnesota, USA.

Contact

Email
fowusu@iastate.edu
Phone
515-294-7769

Contact Info

715 Bissell Rd.
Ames
,
IA
50011-1066
Social Media and Websites

Education

  • Ph.D., Geography, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 2000
  • M.A., Geography, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 1992
  • M.A., Population Studies, United Nations Regional Institute for Population Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana, 1990
  • B.A. (Hons), Geography (major) with Archeology (minor); University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana, 1987

Affiliations

Interdepartmental Programs

Professor Owusu's research focuses on globalization and development policy, institutional capacity building, natural resources management, and urban and economic development issues. Originally from Ghana, he has researched these topics in several African countries and authored journal articles, book chapters, reviews, and reports. He co-edited Managing Africa's Natural Resources: Capacities for Development, published by Palgrave. His recent book is The Urban Question in Africa: Uneven Geographies of Transition, which he co-authored with Padraig Carmody, Jim Murphy, and Richard. Grant, and published by Wiley in 2023.

He has received several research awards, including the 2015 Kwadwo Konadu-Agyemang Distinguished Scholar Award in African Geography awarded by the Africa Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers; the 2013 College of Design Faculty Research Award; and Best Economic Geography Dissertation Award for 2001. He has consulted for several international organizations, including the Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR), the World Bank, the Africa Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), and the National Science Foundation (NSF). He was the ISU Project Leader for the University Capacity Development Program (University Staff Doctoral Programme) between the University of Limpopo, South Africa, and ISU, funded by the Department of Higher Education and Training, South Africa.

Dr. Owusu teaches graduate and undergraduate classes on international development, globalization and cities, and planning methods. He has advised many master's and Ph.D. students and has served as the thesis external for many students from the University of Ghana, Legon. He has won several teaching awards, including the College of Design’s 2006 Polster Teaching Award and a 2007 Memorable Teacher Award from the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. He was awarded the 2023 Iowa State University Award for Inclusive Excellence.

He also has held leadership positions in academic and professional organizations, including serving as the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) representative to the Global Planning Education Association Network (GPEAN), the President of the Mid-America Alliance for African Studies (MAAAS) and the chairperson for Africa Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers. He has served in several editorial roles and is currently an Associate Editor of Cities in the Global South section, Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, and the editorial board of the Journal for Planning Education and Research (JPER).