MONMOUTH, Ill. — Monmouth College associate professor of chemistry Patricia Draves has been named vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio. She will assume her duties July 1.

Draves, who has been a member of the Monmouth faculty since 2002, was one of three finalists for the position, following a national search involving 90 applicants. In making the announcement, Mount Union president Richard Giese noted, “Patricia brings a wealth of teaching and leadership experience in higher education to our campus… She is highly regarded as an innovator of faculty development and curriculum improvement.”

Currently the biochemistry program chair at Monmouth, Draves previously served as associate dean of undergraduate studies at the University of Central Arkansas. She has had a wide range of academic experience that includes integrating technology into teaching and learning, faculty development, freshman interest groups, and scholarship administration. A prolific grant-writer, she has been responsible for more than $1.3 million in faculty development and teaching and curriculum improvement, including $800,000 for enhancing faculty careers from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Her husband, Jeff Draves, has also accepted a position at Mount Union as a member of its science faculty. A 1985 Monmouth College graduate, he earned his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois and he also taught at the University of Central Arkansas before joining the Monmouth chemistry department, which he currently chairs.

Patricia is a 1985 graduate of Mount Holyoke College with an A.B. degree in chemistry. She earned the Ph.D. degree in chemistry from the University of Illinois in 1990 and went onto a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Texas-Austin from 1990-1993.

Both Draves are members of the Faculty for the 21st Century of Project Kaleidoscope and the American Chemical Society.

“Monmouth College and the town of Monmouth have been wonderful places for us and our children to live and grow,” said Patricia. “It has been a joy to work with a community of people that care for one another, help each other learn and develop, and have fun in the process. While it will be difficult to leave Monmouth, an outstanding opportunity has presented itself in the form of the VPAA and Dean’s position at Mount Union College that we felt we needed to explore. We will miss everyone at Monmouth and wish the community continued success.”

The Draves are the parents of three children: Alison, 13, and twin sons, Benjamin and William, 10.

Monmouth College has had a history of sharing administrators with Mount Union College. Monmouth’s 10th president, DeBow Freed, was the former academic dean of Mount Union. Monmouth’s 12th president, Richard Giese, was the former vice president for institutional advancement at MUC, and has since returned to that institution to assume its presidency.