Rate My Professor Karen McLean

Dr Karen McLean serves as Administrator in the Humanities Division at the University of Otago, providing vital support to several programmes including Philosophy, Languages and Cultures, and English and Linguistics. Located in the Arts/Burns Building at 95 Albany Street, Dunedin, she manages administrative tasks, client services, and acts as a key contact for students and staff in these areas. Her office hours are 8:30am to 2:30pm for the Philosophy Programme, and she can be reached at +64 3 479 5961 or via philosophy@otago.ac.nz or languages@otago.ac.nz. In recognition of her exemplary service, Dr McLean received the Operations Group Staff Excellence Award for 2025, presented by the university.

Dr Karen McLean holds a PhD from the University of Otago, awarded in 1998 for her thesis titled "Platonic Parallels in the Philosophical Thought of Samuel Taylor Coleridge." She teaches in the Writing Minor programme and has contributed to the English and Linguistics Department's Deep South ezine as general editor and technical editor during the early 2000s. She co-organised the reunion of Robert Burns Fellows in 2018 alongside Associate Professor Jacob Edmond and participates in literary events, including poetry readings with department members such as a 2024 event featuring New Zealand poetry. Her ongoing involvement highlights her dedication to the humanities at Otago.