Dr. Barbara Anne DeConcini

Barbara Anne DeConcini 1944-2026

Dr. Barbara Anne DeConcini died on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, succumbing to pneumonia at the age of 82. She was a woman of many talents. She loved to sing and dance and found pleasure from the study of literature and film. Teaching came naturally to her, whether her students were in elementary school or college. She was a gifted organizer, administrator and fund raiser for academic and nonprofit organizations. She cared deeply about all forms of injustice and was a dedicated feminist. Her favorite city in the world was Paris, where she lived with her husband, Dr. Walter Lowe, during a sabbatical year. They returned often for what she described as blissful vacations. Her heart was always taken by the many Bichon Frises she and Walt adopted over the years.

Barbara was born on February 15, 1944, and raised in West Philadelphia. She never lost her love for her native city. She graduated from West Catholic Girls High School, and at the age of eighteen joined the Catholic Order of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus (SHCJ). During that time, she taught at St. Lucy's School in Manayunk, PA, and Annunciation Elementary School in Washington, DC. She received a BA from Rosemont College in Rosemont, PA, and an MA in English from Bryn Mawr College. Later she taught and became the Assistant Dean at Rosemont.

In 1974 she moved to Atlanta, GA, to begin her studies for a PhD in Literature and Theology at Emory University. She left her religious order in 1976 and in 1979 married her beloved, Walt. In 1980, she completed her Ph.D. with a dissertation titled Remembering: A Hermeneutic of Narrative Time. In it, she explored her enduring fascination with the relationship between symbol, language, narrative, and time; questions that continued to shape her scholarship in later years, particularly in her writings on religion and the arts, with special attention to poetry, fiction, and film.

She began her college teaching career at the Atlanta College of Art (ACA) where she offered courses in the liberal arts and in 1986 became Dean of the College. Ofelia Garcia, President of the College, and Barbara turned the ACA around by increasing enrollment, achieving accreditation and improving the financial status of the school.

In 1991, Barbara was chosen to serve as the first female Executive Director of the American Academy of Religion, the world’s largest learned society and professional association for faculty teaching religion and theology in colleges, universities, and seminaries. When she began the AAR had 6,194 members. Over the course of her tenure, that number grew to more than 11,300, reflecting both her vision and the expanding vitality of the field.

Under her guidance, the AAR’s Annual Meeting, which is held in partnership with the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) also flourished. Attendance reached as many as 12,500 participants, as scholars engaged in an ever-widening range of questions about religion’s profound and multifaceted influence on history, culture, and contemporary life.

Working closely with partnering institutions like the Lilly Endowment and her colleagues in SBL, Barbara also led the effort to secure funding from the Henry Luce Foundation for a beautiful permanent headquarters on the campus of Emory University that continues to house and strengthen the partnership between the two organizations today. She also oversaw the establishment of a partnership with Oxford University Press ensuring that the AAR’s publications (journals and monographs) receive appropriate recognition both domestically but also internationally.

It is no exaggeration to say that under Barbara’s leadership, the AAR came fully into its own among the nation’s leading learned societies. She held leadership roles within the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) serving on the Executive Dommittee of the Council of Executive Officers (CEO) from 1995 to 1998, and also on the ACLS Board as the elected representative of the CEO from 1996 to 1998 when she was the CEO Chair. All of this work stands as a testament to the respect she earned and the stature she helped the AAR achieve during the 15 years she served the AAR. Barbara retired from her position as Executive Director of the AAR in 2006.

When Barbara retired from the AAR and Walt from the Candler School of Theology at Emory, the call to return to Philadelphia was too great. They found a home in Society Hill. Once established, Barbara joined The City, a Quaker-inspired organization for cultural and other activities for older people. Barbara became one its most successful leaders/teachers. Despite her fondness for Philadelphia Barbara and Walt regularly returned to Atlanta to visit old friends.

Throughout her career Barbara focused a great deal of attention on philanthropic work. She joined the Rosemont College Board in 1991 and sometime later the Board of Catholics for Choice. In retirement, Barbara broadened her work with several other organizations Barbara served on and led the Board of The Providence Center, a small organization established in 1993 by the SHCJ sisters in the Fairhill neighborhood of Philadelphia, an area with the highest poverty rate in the city. The Center is committed to helping hardworking families embrace futures filled with hope and opportunity. Barbara led their Board, raising money to buy and renovate a building to house classes and after-school activates.

She also worked diligently on behalf of the Casa Cornelia Law Center, located in San Diego, California. It provides pro bono legal services to victims of human and civil rights violations. Barbara was on their Board of Directors from 2003 to 2015, and she often traveled from Philadelphia to San Diego to attend meetings.

As a result of Walt's failing health, they moved to Dunwoody Village a retirement community in Newtown Square, PA, in 2020. After Walt's death on February 23, 2024, Barbara and her Bichon, Jeffery, continued to live independently. When she moved to the nursing care unit, she found a loving home for Jeffery.

Barbara was predeceased by her parents, Mary and Edwin DeConcini; by sisters Anne DeConcini (Sister of Mercy Order) and Mary DeConcini Ewing; Godmother June DeConcini Freeman; and by her beloved husband, Dr. Walter Lowe. Barbara is survived by nephews Colin and Quinn Ewing; cousins Sally Mathew Coll, Theresa Mathews, and Joan Stankiewuzz; Goddaughter Catherine Dillard; and numerous close friends.

A memorial service will take place later this Spring at Christ Church in Philadelphia, PA. Requests for details may be sent to: warren.frisina@hofstra.edu.