Office
Stouffer Hall, Room 226
Mailing Address
Stouffer Hall, Room 206
1175 Maple Street, Indiana, PA 15705
Telephone
724-357-4541
724-357-1251
Fax
724-357-7821
Formal Education
- BA, University of Virginia, Religious Studies
- MEd, University of South Carolina, Student Personnel Services
- PhD, Bowling Green State University, Higher Education Administration
Professional Experience and Interests
John Wesley Lowery's interest in student affairs began at the University of Virginia, where he was very active in University Union working with concert promotions and managing a DJ service. After UVA, Lowery went to the University of South Carolina's Student Personnel Services Program. After graduate school, he served as university judicial administrator at Washington University in St. Louis. He spent one year at Adrian College as director of Residence Life before entering the doctoral program in Higher Education Administration at Bowling Green State University. During his final year of his doctoral studies, Lowery served as a visiting instructor in BGSU's College Student Development Program. After completing his PhD in 2000, Lowery served on the University of South Carolina's faculty for six years and coordinated the Higher Education and Student Affairs program. He also served on the faculty at Oklahoma State University for two years. Lowery joined the SAHE faculty at IUP in 2008.
In addition to his professional experience, Lowery has been very active in professional associations. He currently serves as NASPA historian and served on NASPA’s 100th Anniversary Committee and the 2019 Conference Leadership Team. He served as ASJA’s CAS director for five years. He served on the board of directors for both NASPA (2002–04) and ASJA (1996–99). He has also coedited special issues of the Journal of College and University Student Housing and the NASPA Journal and served as an About Campus Department editor, on the NASPA Journal Editorial Board, and as a reviewer for the College Student Affairs Journal and Oracle.
Over his career, Lowery has been honored by several professional organizations. In 2022, he received the George D. Kuh Outstanding Contribution to Literature and/or Research Award from NASPA as well as the Donald D. Gehring Award from ASCA. He received the 2021 Outstanding Contribution to Literature and/or Research Award from NASPA Region II. In 2020, he was recognized by the NASPA Foundation as a Pillar of the Profession for “demonstrated sustained, lifetime professional distinction in the field of student affairs.” In 2014, Lowery was recognized as an ACPA Diamond Honoree for outstanding and sustained contributions to higher education and to student affairs. He has twice received the Tracy R. Teele Memorial Award from ACPA’s Commission for Student Conduct and Legal Issues for “outstanding contributions to the area of judicial affairs and legal issues” in 2014 and 2005. In 2009, the Standing Committee for Graduate Students and New Professionals of ACPA recognized Lowery as the outstanding mentor to graduate students.