Education:
B.A.: George Williams College, Downers Grove, Illinois
M.A.L.S.: Rosary College, River Forest, Illinois
Additional graduate work: Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois
Mrs. Downer brings a wide range, and many years of experience in the education field to the J.F. Smith Group. She has been a librarian for over thirty years in the field of higher education. Key appointments have been as director of Lewis University Library in Lockport, Illinois, and for the past twenty-eight years, serving as a department head, associate dean and most recently as the interim dean of the Auburn University Libraries.
She has made numerous public presentations and has published in a variety of educational professional journals in the areas human resources and also information technology. She was instrumental in leading the design and development of the computer technology that currently serves the Auburn University Libraries, and was one of the original developers of the Alabama Virtual Library, which delivers over $3,000,000.00 worth of journal and information databases free of charge to the citizens of Alabama. She has served as a consultant to libraries throughout the country, especially in the areas of library information technology development.
She has been active in national professional associations as well as local associations and committees throughout her lifetime. She is a member of the Auburn United Methodist Church where she presently serves on the administrative board. She is married to Paul Downer, a local building contractor, and has three grown children and three wonderful grandchildren.