Lillian M. Lowery (1954 – April 13, 2022) was an American government official and educator who served as Superintendent of the

Maryland State Department of Education Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) is a division of the state government of Maryland in the United States. The agency oversees public school districts, which are 24 local school systems—one for each of Maryland's 23 counties plus one ...

in the Cabinet of Governors Martin O'Malley and Larry Hogan from July 2012 to September, 2015. Lowery was born in

Gastonia, North Carolina Gastonia is the largest city in and county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest satellite city of the Charlotte area, behind Concord. The population was 80,411 at the 2020 census, up from 71,741 in 20 ...

. Her educational background includes a B.A. in English from

North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a public historically black university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliation with the Chautauqua movement in 1909, it was supported by private funds from ...

, an M.A. in curriculum and instruction from the

University of North Carolina at Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine colle ...

, and an Ed.D. in education and policy studies from

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

. Following completion of her Master's degree in 1978, Lowery became a middle school English teacher in the

Gaston County Schools Gaston County Schools is a public school district located in Gaston County, North Carolina. With 30,046 students enrolled in 56 schools as of the 2021–22 academic year, it is the tenth largest public school district in North Carolina. Scho ...

in Gastonia, North Carolina, before moving on to a similar position in the

Alexandria City Public Schools Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) is a school division which is funded by the government of Alexandria, Virginia, United States. Administration Superintendent The superintendent of Alexandria City Public Schools is Gregory C. Hutchings, ...

in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1984 where she served until 1988. From 1988 to 2002, she served in several positions within the

Fairfax County Public Schools The Fairfax County Public Schools system (FCPS) is a school division in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. It is a branch of the Fairfax County government which administers public schools in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. FCPS's headq ...

based in

Fairfax, Virginia The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth ...

, including high school English teacher, assistant principal, minority student achievement monitor, and principal. In 2002, she became an Area Administrator for the Fort Wayne Community Schools in Fort Wayne, Indiana, serving in that post until 2004, when she returned to the Fairfax County Public Schools in order to serve as an Assistant Superintendent until 2006. From 2006 until her appointment as Secretary of the

Delaware Department of Education The Delaware Department of Education (DEDOE) is the state education agency of Delaware. It is headquartered in the John G. Townsend Building in Dover, with auxiliary offices in the John W. Collette Education Resource Center in Dover. Susan Buntin ...

in the Cabinet of Governor

Jack Markell Jack Alan Markell (born November 26, 1960) is an American politician who currently serves as the United States ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. He previously served as the 73rd governor of Delaware from 2 ...

in 2009, she served as Superintendent of the

Christina School District The Christina School District is a Delaware public school district located primarily in the Newark area and a non-contiguous portion of Wilmington. The district office is located in the Drew Educational Support Center in Wilmington, with Dan ...

Newark, Delaware Newark ( )Not as in Newark, New Jersey. is a small city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It is located west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is home to the Uni ...

. She served as Delaware Secretary of Education from 2009 until her appointment as Superintendent of the Maryland State Department of Education in 2012. In September, 2015, Lowery resigned as Superintendent of the Maryland State Department of Education in order to become the first President and Chief Executive Officer of FutureReady Columbus, a Columbus, Ohio-based non-profit organization specializing in early childhood education. In March, 2017, she was appointed Vice President for PreK-12 Policy, Research, and Practice at The Education Trust, a Washington, D.C.-based national nonprofit organization working to identify and close opportunity and achievement gaps in K-12 education. In September, 2018, she became Vice President of Student and Teacher Assessments at the

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

-based

Educational Testing Service Educational Testing Service (ETS), founded in 1947, is the world's largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization. It is headquartered in Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, Lawrence Township, New Jersey, b ...

. She retired from Educational Testing Service in January 2002. and died three months later on April 13, 2022.Lillian M. Lowery-Legacy.com
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowery, Lillian M. 1954 births 2022 deaths Superintendents of Public Instruction of Maryland State cabinet secretaries of Delaware Women in Maryland politics Women in Delaware politics African-American state cabinet secretaries African-American people in Maryland politics African-American people in Delaware politics African-American schoolteachers Schoolteachers from North Carolina People from Gastonia, North Carolina North Carolina Central University alumni University of North Carolina at Charlotte alumni Virginia Tech alumni American women academics African-American academics African-American women in politics 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American women