We Mourn the Loss of Dr. Esther Lowy

Dr.  Lowy was  the dedicated and dynamic academic leader of  Touro College Los Angeles from its very inception. As Founding Dean of the College, Dr. Lowy worked with Touro’s founder, Dr. Bernard Lander, to establish a program of high  academic quality in a positive Jewish atmosphere. A mother of eight children, Dr. Lowy extended her parental role to the Touro-LA program and all of its students. Her concern for every student,  and her dedication to ensuring the success of each individual was legendary.

A Woodrow Wilson Fellow while she was a student  at NYU,  Dr. Lowy earned a  Ph.D. in Mathematics from the prestigious  Courant Institute  at a time when  women constituted 4%  of those receiving mathematics  doctorates in the country.  Dr. Lowy initially aspired to an academic career, serving in positions at City University of New York, California Polytechnic University and UCLA.  She subsequently earned  her  MBA degree from UCLA and assumed a number of management positions before undertaking the position as Dean at Touro College LA in 2005.

Dr. Lowy believed passionately in the Touro College mission and in the importance of providing higher  education to young men and women  in a supportive Jewish  environment. She brought this passion to her work in building the Touro College –LA branch, and in bringing up her own outstanding children, who all studied at Touro College. She was a tremendous asset to Touro College and her passing leaves a void and a profound sense of loss. Students and alumni from many  previous years participated in the last respects paid to her, before she was taken to Israel for internment.

“Dr. Lowy was an outstanding educator,  a personal friend to so many and a caring and dynamic academic leader. She will be sorely missed,” said Touro College President and CEO Dr. Alan Kadish.

Touro extends heartfelt  condolences to Dean Lowy’s family and joins them in grieving her loss.  May her memory be blessed.