Two re-elected as university trustees
WAYNESBURG – Two men who have given 37 years of combined service as members of the Waynesburg University Board of Trustees were re-elected to new terms during the February board meeting.
Both James R. Lowe Jr. of El Dorado Hills, Calif., who previously served on the board from 1972 until 1995, and the Rev. Dr. Donald P. Wilson of Waynesburg, who served almost every year since 2000, as well as serving as the interim director of Christian life at the university, will begin their new terms in May.
“We gladly welcome Mr. Lowe’s return to the Waynesburg University Board of Trustees,” said University President Douglas G. Lee. “He has achieved excellence in his profession and is a strong example of faith and service. We are confident that he will be a great asset to the university.”
Lowe graduated from Waynesburg College in 1963 with a bachelor of arts degree in social studies. In September of that year, he joined the IBM Corp. in Pittsburgh. Until his retirement from IBM 30 years later, Lowe was tasked with the worldwide responsibility of identifying and resolving IBM product deficiencies for five IBM media sectors.
In addition to his many honors, Lowe served as IBM’s representative on President Jimmy Carter’s National Taskforce on Ridesharing in 1979.
As the manager of Information Systems Technology at IBM Corporate Headquarters, Lowe was invited to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in 1986 to speak to groups of IBM customers and prospective customers about IBM’s implementation of office automation.
After retiring from IBM in 1993, Lowe became project director of the Taxation and Revenue Information Management System. He worked on a project to develop a fourth-generation language technology tax and revenue system for the state of New Mexico.
In 1999, Lowe rejoined IBM as a member of a special group of IBM retirees devoted to recruiting new employees from acquisitions and outsourcing opportunities.
He has coached boys and girls soccer, as well as Little League baseball. In the past, Lowe has served on the Secretarial Advisory Board for The Berkeley School and as the chairman of Sacred Heart Academy Advisory Council.
“Reverend Wilson has a long history of faithful counsel and involvement at Waynesburg University,” said Lee. “We appreciate his longstanding commitment to Waynesburg’s mission and are pleased to welcome him to the University’s Board of Trustees once again.”
Wilson earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1964 from Waynesburg College and a master of divinity degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.
In 1992, Waynesburg College awarded Wilson an honorary doctor of humane letters degree for his professional achievements, his community service activities and his significant leadership and involvement with the college. He also served on the college’s Alumni Council from 1991 to 1999.
Wilson served for more than 30 years as the pastor of Lebanon United Presbyterian in West Middlesex. He fulfilled interim appointments as the executive presbyter of Washington Presbytery and pastor of First Baptist Church of Waynesburg, First Presbyterian Church of Waynesburg and Hewitt Presbyterian Church in Rices Landing.
He also served as the protestant chaplain at the Northwest Regional Correctional Facility of Mercer, where he developed a drug and alcohol self-help program. For more than 20 years, Wilson served West Middlesex Area School Board and acted as a consultant to the county courts in youth services for a number of years.