Karen Rabren
Mildred Cheshire Fraley Distinguished Professor
Office: 1230A Haley Center
Department: Special Education, Rehabilitation, and Counseling
Campus Mail: 2084 Haley Center
Email: send an email
Phone: (334) 844-2082
Vita: view vita
Academic Areas
Collaborative Teacher Special Education
Early Childhood/Elementary Special Education
Short Bio
Karen Rabren, PhD, is a Mildred Chesire Fraley Distinguished Professor in the Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, and Counseling at Auburn University.Her career has centered on the transition of youth with disabilities as they assume young adult roles. Her research interests include the post-school outcomes for students with disabilities and the development, implementation, and evaluation of transition services and programs. She began her professional journey as a preschool teacher then turned her attention to special education becoming a teacher, state training coordinator, state program director, and professor.
As the director of the state’s 5-year transition systems change grant, she led a talented team at the Alabama State Department of Education as they helped public schools establish secondary transition programs. She continued her focus on transition as a faculty member at Auburn University. She served as the Auburn Transition Leadership Institute for over a decade and was a co-founder of Auburn’s EAGLES program for students with intellectual disabilities. She has supported her teaching, research, and outreach with over 10 million dollars in extramural funding. She has received awards for her research, outreach, and teaching. She has held state and national leadership roles and has a long history of serving on editorial boards related to transition such as the Journal of Career Development and Transition and Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation. She coordinates the Education Specialist in Collaborative Teacher-Special Education and Transition Specialist Graduate Certificate programs.
Dr. Rabren is originally from Montgomery, Alabama. Throughout her youth she showed American Quarter Horses and continues to enjoy horseback riding today. She is married to Donnie Rabren and they have three children and three grandchildren. She likes to travel, whether that be on short expeditions within her home state, or national and international adventures. She enjoys baking cookies with her grandchildren and taking them “treasure hunting” at local thrift stores.
Education
Ph.D. in Special Education, 1994, Auburn University
M.Ed. in Special Education, 1987, Auburn University
B.S. in Elementary Education, 1983, Auburn University Montgomery
Professional Experience
2018 - Present
Mildred Cheshire Fraley Distinguished Professor, Auburn University
2018 - 2019
Interim Director, EAGLES Postsecondary Program for Students with Intellectual Disabilities, Auburn University
2016 - Present
Program Coordinator, Transition Specialist Graduate Certificate, Auburn University
2015 - Present
Program Coordinator, Education Specialist Program in Collaborative Teacher-Special Education, Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, & Counseling
2010 - 2018
Professor, Auburn University
2006 - 2017
Director, Auburn Transitional Leadership Institute, Auburn University
2004 - 2006
Associate Director, Auburn Transitional Leadership Institute, Auburn University
2004 - 2010
Associate Professor, Auburn University
2000 - 2004
Assistant Professor, Auburn University
1997 - 2000
Director, Alabama Transition Initiative, Alabama State Department of Education, Montgomery, Alabama
1996 - 1997
Director, Alabama Transition Initiative, Alabama Transition Initiative, Alabama State Department of Education, Montgomery, Alabama
1996 - 1997
Training Specialist, Alabama Transition Initiative, Alabama State Department of Education, Montgomery, Alabama
1994 - 1996
Program Coordinator, Distance Education Transition Training Program, Auburn University, Alabama