Interviews

Name: Dr William J. Lowe
Trinity Qualification: PhD (1975)
Title: Chancellor and Professor of History at Indiana University Northwest.
About: Dr Lowe is a supporter of the Trinity Long Room Hub (TLRH), the institute for Arts and Humanities at Trinity. The Hub aims to cultivate an experimental and provocative intellectual space which acts as a catalyst for conversations and collaborations on high quality, high impact and high profile interdisciplinary research. Located in the heart of Trinity, the Hub creates an environment for Trinity’s Arts and Humanities scholars to work collaboratively and it hosts a wide range of public humanities events, including public lectures, debates, conferences and symposia. 

Dr Lowe and his wife Pamela specifically support the TLRH’s International Visiting Research Fellowship programme, which is designed to strengthen Trinity’s global connections in the Arts and Humanities by bringing renowned public intellectuals and scholars to the Hub for short-term, high-impact residencies. 

“Our support for the TLRH is rooted in our commitments to both Trinity and the humanities. Postgraduate study in history with Professor Moody at Trinity provided me with an extraordinary experience (including work with scholars from other disciplines) that helped to prepare me well for an academic career that took me in unexpected directions. Being a historian has always been integral to my professional life because it is a discipline that is central to what we mean by the humanities and how we write the story of the human experience.”

Prior to becoming Chancellor of Indiana University Northwest, Dr Lowe was Provost and Professor of History at Metropolitan State University in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he also served as Interim President during the 2007-2008 academic year. Dr Lowe has held a number of other senior positions at academic institutions in the US.

Dr Lowe’s research and writing is in the field of modern Irish history and he was a Fulbright Scholar at Trinity (1990). His current project is the history of the Royal Irish Constabulary (R.I.C.), from 1836 until its disbandment in 1922.  His articles have appeared in Irish Historical Studies, Irish Economic and Social History,, Éire-Ireland, History Ireland and other international journals.  Dr Lowe’s book, The Irish in Mid-Victorian Lancashire: The Shaping of a Working Class Community was published in 1989.