Brains Over Brawn

Gregg Lowe, a senior vice president at Texas Instruments, knows global competition. He spent five years working in Germany and traveling the globe marshalling the $12.5 billion technology firm’s European sales force.

“The basics of science and technology are taught very early on in China and India,” Lowe says. “I do a lot of business over there, and it’s something that’s very strongly promoted.”

That’s why when Brother Peter Graham, president of St. Edward’s High School in Lakewood, visited him in Dallas to ask for a donation for the school, Lowe, a 1980 St. Ed’s grad, wanted to do more than just cut a check.

“Frankly, the first thing they wanted me to fund was a weight room,” Lowe says. “I used to lift weights a lot, and I can appreciate that, but they’re going to have a weight room whether my name’s on it or not.”

In 2000, Lowe pledged $750,000 to create a pre-engineering program at St. Ed’s, which includes an emphasis on math, science and technology. To date, 48 students have completed the three-year program. Of those 48 students, 44 are majoring in engineering at college.

The program started with one part-time instructor, but now has one full-time instructor assisted by two other teachers. More than 300 students are involved in the program.

To accommodate the growth, Lowe pledged another $750,000 to add classroom space and equipment for the tech-heavy classes. The area will be called Helen and Joseph Lowe Pre-Engineering and Technology Center.

“A third of the student population is now involved in the program,” Lowe says. “We’re bursting at the seams.”