In Memoriam: Karen Roth, 1956-2019

Karen Roth, a former administrator at the University of California, Davis and Oregon State University-Cascades in Bend, Oregon, died last month of endometrial cancer at her home in Sisters, Oregon. She was 63 years old.

A native of La Crosse, Wisconsin, Roth began her career at the University of California, Davis in 1986 as the assistant director of residential life in the Office of Student Housing. She subsequently moved to the provost’s office and Office of Campus Community Relations as the coordinator of diversity education.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Roth spearheaded the Campus Community Book Project, designed to promote dialogue and build community by encouraging faculty, staff, students, and the wider community to read the same book and attend related events. The project continues to this day.

Roth left the University of California, Davis in 2006 to teach part-time at Oregon State University-Cascades in Bend. In 2008, Roth was named director of diversity and inclusion at Central Oregon Community College, also in Bend. She remained in that post until her retirement in 2018.