Dr. Cowan grew up in nearby Hamlin, received bachelor's degree from The University of Texas at Austin before receiving DDS from Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas in 1991. He worked the first few years in group practices in Dallas and Austin, and then purchased a private practice in the Permian Basin and worked there for 29 years. He and his wife live in Abilene, and have two grown children working as an RN in a cardiac clinic and as an engineer.