In Memoriam: Karen Odell Austin, 1944-2012

Karen Austin, professor emerita of Spanish at the University of Southern Mississippi, died late last month at the age of 68.

Professor Austin joined the university’s faculty in 1971 and maintained a 40-year career at the educational institution. She did spend one year as a visiting research fellow at the University of Exeter in England.

Professor Austin was a graduate of Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia. She earned a master’s degree from Middlebury College and a Ph.D. in Spanish from the University of Kentucky. Among her scholarly credits are the translations of several Spanish novels into English.