Chancellor Recommends James Lowe for Bishop State Community College Presidency

May 19th, 2008, Montgomery, Alabama – Bradley R. Byrne, chancellor of Alabama's two-year college system, will recommend Dr. James Lowe as the next president of Bishop State Community College to the Alabama State Board of Education at its May 22 board meeting.

Byrne plans to recommend Lowe for the position after completing a presidential search process which brought in 50 applicants from across the country. Lowe has served as interim president since August 1, 2007, replacing Dr. Yvonne Kennedy who resigned her post. Kennedy had served as president of Bishop State Community College since September of 1981.

"We had an extraordinary group of finalists but after careful consideration it is clear to me that the best person to lead Bishop State Community College into the future is Jim Lowe." Byrne said.

Lowe was enlisted to lead the "Project Phoenix" effort to restore the viability and credibility of Bishop State Community College in June of 2007. Prior to his time at Bishop State, Lowe worked in several positions throughout the system. He served as vice chancellor of college operations; vice chancellor of instructional and student services at the Department of Postsecondary Education; interim dean of instruction at Chattahoochee Valley Community College; and interim president at Northwest-Shoals Community College.

Previously, Lowe served in various positions associated with increasing the performance of students on standardized tests, coordinating in-service training for teachers, working with parents to increase their involvement in the educational process of their children and working with businesses to develop incentive programs for student's academic achievements within Alabama's secondary institutions. Prior to that, he served as an adjunct professor at Alabama State University; assistant superintendent; principal; assistant principal and educator for a number of K-12 systems in Alabama and Washington, D.C.

Lowe received his doctorate in education administration from San Francisco Technical University in San Francisco, California. He holds a master's degree in physical education and administration from The American University in Washington, D.C., and a bachelor's degree in physical education from Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Bishop State Community College is located in Mobile, serving students in Washington County, and a large portion of Mobile County. Bishop State is part of the Alabama Community College System, offering associate degrees, academic courses that are fully transferable to four-year institutions, workforce training, and adult education.

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Communications Division Contact:
Herb Jordan
Director of Public Relations
P: (251) 405-7135
F: (251) 432-7812
hjordan@bishop.edu