Sara Lowman is Vice Provost and University Librarian. In her post, which she assumed in 2007, Lowman provides vision, leadership and strategic direction for the Fondren Library, ensuring it helps advance the university’s research and teaching missions.

Lowman has worked at the library for over 30 years in a variety of positions including Director of Fondren Library, Associate University Librarian and Assistant University Librarian for Public Services. Originally from Marshalltown, Iowa, Lowman is a graduate of Carleton College with a degree in biology and Russian studies, and the University of Iowa with a master’s degree in library and information science.  Her background includes service planning and assessment, collection development and management, facilities planning and design and organizational development, as well as building distinctive and unique collections. 

Lowman is interested in the future of libraries, scholarly communications issues, and how best the library can support research, teaching and learning for all members of the Rice community. She has served on the boards of the Greater Western Library Alliance, the Western Regional Storage Trust, Amigos Library Resources Consortium, and on many Association of Research Libraries and American Library Association task forces and committees.  She currently serves as the Chair of the Texas Library Coalition for United Action.