Class Of 1985

STUART LOWRY: A voice in the park.

New Indy Parks director Stuart Lowry nabbed five acres of a Teflon-coated fiberglass roof when the former Hoosier Dome was demolished in December. He plans to reuse it to create umbrellas and shelter canopies at some of the 206 Indianapolis pools, parks and playgrounds he oversees.

Creative thinking is Lowry's hallmark. At Dartmouth the current president of Indianapolis' tony Dramatic Club cofounded the Dartmouth Improvisational Players with S; 35 after bonding on their freshman trip. "Starting the Improv was one of my favorite projects," says Lowry, who followed brother Kent '81 to Dartmouth (sister also attended). "At first we had to educate the school that improv was a viable art form," he recalls. It wasn't immediately accepted by the theater department, but that changed by his junior year, when the group started training most of the mainstage actors.

Before taking on the city park system Lowry served as director of family programs at the White River State Park, home of the Indianapolis Zoo, and as director of interpretation at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. "His lifetime of knowledge about Indianapolis parks has allowed him to hit the ground running," says U.S. Senator Dick Lugar.

He'll need all that experience to erase a $3 million deficit in a $33 million budget without cutting programs and maintenance in the city's properties, which encompass more than 11,000 acres.

Not exactly a walk in the park.