Memorial service set for Russian professor David Lowe

A memorial service for emeritus professor David Lowe is scheduled for 4 p.m. May 16 in Buttrick Hall, Room 102.

Lowe, an expert in Russian literature who taught at Vanderbilt for three decades, died April 9. He was 63.

Lowe was well-known for his translations – he published collections of the letters of Ivan Turgenev and Fyodor Dostovevsky – and the book Russian Writing since 1953: A Critical Survey. He retired last year with the title professor of Slavic languages and literatures, emeritus.

In addition to writing extensively about 19^th century Russian authors, he wrote the first detailed study of Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons. He also wrote about opera, examining its representation in Russian literature and compiling and editing the letters of Maria Callas.

Lowe served on most of the College of Arts and Science committees, as well as on the Faculty Senate and its committees. He was recognized for outstanding freshman advising at Vanderbilt and was a highly regarded and sought-out authority on Russian literature.

A native of Carlinville, Ill., Lowe earned his Ph.D. in Russian literature from Indiana University in 1977 and came to Vanderbilt University as an assistant professor in 1979.