John Crowden taught at sociology at Berea College for forty-one years and coordinated the college's convocations program for twenty years before retiring in 2004.

Crowden was a graduate of Transylvania University in Lexington and also held degrees from the Lexington Theological Seminary and was ordained in the Disciples of Christ (Christian) Church. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky. He began teaching in the Sociology Department of Berea College in 1963 and served as the chairperson of the department for a number of years. Crowden passed away in December of 2004.