L. Randolph (Randy) Lowry was appointed the 17th president of Lipscomb University in July, 2005. Prior to his appointment he served as Professor of Law and Founding Director of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University School of Law in Malibu, California. The Straus Institute has repeatedly been ranked number one in the nation by U.S. News, ahead of schools such as Harvard and Ohio State.
President Lowry joined the Lipscomb University community after a career in higher education which included eleven years serving as Assistant to the President of Hamline University (St. Paul, Minnesota) and Willamette University (Salem, Oregon) where the president was Dr. Jerry E. Hudson, a Lipscomb University graduate. During the last 19 years, Lowry led Pepperdine’s effort in the new field of dispute resolution as a tenured Professor of Law, author, teacher and mediator. He has held visiting academic appointments at City University of Hong Kong, Bond University in Australia, Hamline University, University of Idaho, Vermont Law School and Abilene Christian University.
Lowry’s lifetime commitment to distinctively Christian education is the outgrowth of his education at Pepperdine University, a sister school to Lipscomb University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Public Administration degrees. Subsequently, he completed his Juris Doctor degree. He is particularly interested in the academic preparation of young adults in a context where faith informs their study and their lives. President Lowry is a lifelong member of the Church of Christ most recently serving for seven years as an Elder at the Conejo Valley Church of Christ in Thousand Oaks, California.
President Lowry is a popular speaker at conferences and lectureships hosted by many different organizations. They have included the Tulsa Soul-Winning Workshop, the Red River and Yosemite Encampments, lectureships at Pepperdine, Abilene, and Oklahoma Christian universities, the Elders Workshop at Harding University as well as special programs at Faulkner University. Lowry’s love for Christ and commitment to the church has been the motivation for his service to churches in the areas of conflict resolution, strategic planning and leadership development.
Randy has been married to Rhonda Gail Lowry who he met during her first week as a Pepperdine student. They have three natural children: John who is married to Melissa and lives in Dallas, Texas, and works as both a lawyer and the educational minister of the Preston Road Church of Christ; Janet who is married to Richmond and lives in Thousand Oaks, California, currently working on her Ph.D. at the University of California at Santa Barbara; and, Melinda who a sophomore at Wheaton College in Illinois and the Spiritual Captain of its national championship women’s soccer team. Randy and Rhonda also count as part of their family, Mark Lamb, a young man who came to live with them during his senior year in high school, who works in property management in Southern California.
