Alan C. Lowe obtained his B.A. (1986) and M.A. (1988) in history at the University of Kentucky. In 1989, Lowe joined the staff of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California as an archivist. In 1992, he moved to the Office of Presidential Libraries at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Washington, D.C. In the Office of Presidential Libraries, Lowe helped to oversee the many Presidential libraries located throughout the nation administered by NARA. During part of this time, he also served as interim Director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library in Hyde Park, New York.

From 2003 to 2009, Lowe served as the founding Executive Director of the Howard H. Baker, Jr. Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee. In that capacity, he created a host of public, educational, and research programs to increase civic engagement and promote a better understanding of policy issues. He also oversaw the completion of a facility for the Baker Center on the University of Tennessee campus.

From 2009 to 2016, Lowe served as founding Director of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. In that role, he managed all aspects of the Library and Museum’s operations, and was part of the team that oversaw the design and construction of the new Bush Library and Museum facility on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

In July 2016, Lowe was appointed as Executive Director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois. He oversees all elements of that agency’s operations, all with the mission of perpetuating and learning from the enduring legacy of President Lincoln and the rich history of Illinois.

Lowe was appointed by Governor Bruce Rauner as a General Trustee of the Lincoln Academy in 2017. He serves on the Boards of the Central Illinois Foodbank, the Illinois Association of Museums, and Illinois Humanities. He is a commissioner on the Illinois Bicentennial Commission. Lowe is a member of the Advisory Board for the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky, and serves on the Advisory Board for the University of Kentucky’s Department of History. At SMU, he served on the Boards of the Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility, and SMU Libraries, and taught at SMU’s annual Cultural Institute. From 2003 until 2006, he served as the representative of former Senate Majority Leader William Frist on the Advisory Committee on the Records of Congress. While at the Baker Center, he served as President of the Association of Centers for the Study of Congress, and as President of the Board of Directors of the William Blount Mansion Association. Lowe sat on the Board of Directors for WUOT, and for the East Tennessee Economic Council. He also served on the Advisory Panel for the Mayo Clinic Health Policy Center. In the summer of 2007, he was selected to take part in the 53rd annual National Security Seminar at the United States Army War College. Lowe is a graduate of the Leadership Knoxville class of 2007. In 2014, Lowe was awarded the Public Service Award for Outstanding Leadership by the Dallas-Fort Worth Federal Executive Board.

Lowe is a native of Bourbon County, Kentucky. He and his wife, Kathy, and daughter, Carolyn, reside in Chatham, Illinois.