April 25, 2019

SVSU alumna, Dow chief sustainability officer to address students

Saginaw Valley State University students will have an opportunity to hear from a graduate who has risen to a leadership position for one of the nation’s leading companies. Mary Draves, vice president and chief sustainability officer for Dow, will serve as a guest speaker during SVSU’s Science and Engineering Symposium.

The symposium will take place Friday, April 26, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in SVSU's Pioneer Hall. Draves will speak from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Draves was named a 2018 distinguished alumna at SVSU. She completed a bachelor's degree in biology in 1994, and a master's in technological processes in 2001, both from SVSU. She has worked at Dow for 25 years, most of that time spent in the Midland site in a variety of leadership roles.

Draves began her time at Dow in the Toxicology and Environmental Health Research Lab, and she also spent some time in the Environmental, Health and Safety group.

The SVSU Science and Engineering Symposium is aimed at recognizing student achievement, inspiring innovation and promoting collaboration between SVSU students and faculty. Both student and faculty research will be presented.

The student work can be of several types, including student research and design projects, special course work projects, or other original work.

Examples of student research and design projects include independent study research projects, engineering senior design projects and extracurricular projects. Special course work projects can include laboratory independent projects, extensive research reports and literature reviews assigned to an entire class.