Patricia H. Draves

President

A native of Rhode Island, Draves earned a bachelor of arts in chemistry from Mount Holyoke College and a doctorate in biophysical chemistry from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at University of Texas at Austin, where she began her interest in studying chemotherapy drugs.

Dr. Patricia H. Draves became the 15th president of Monmouth College on July 1, 2024.

A veteran higher education leader and former chemistry professor at Monmouth, Draves was unanimously chosen president by the Monmouth College Board of Trustees after an extensive national search.

Before returning to Monmouth, Draves was the 18th president of Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa, from 2017-24. Her legacy at Graceland included the Blue, Gold & Bold Strategic Plan, which established a new academic model by awarding all of the university’s undergraduate students a second major in transformational leadership. Draves also helped the university raise more than $55 million which included $30 million in facilities including a student center and athletic facility. She also successfully guided Graceland through the global COVID-19 pandemic keeping the school open and all activities available to all students.

From 2006-14, Draves was vice president for academic affairs and dean of the university at University of Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio. Under her leadership, the university achieved significant academic transformation and growth. She led the establishment of Mount Union’s first graduate education programs with the addition of physician assistant studies, physical therapy and educational leadership and oversaw a successful NCAA Division III athletic program with 21 sports. She promoted and oversaw the development of three academic centers and 14 new undergraduate programs, including mechanical engineering and civil engineering, the implementation of a successful health and medical sciences initiative, and the enhancement of the performing arts.

From 2002-06, Draves was a chemistry professor at Monmouth, where she started the College’s biochemistry program.

Draves began her higher education career in 1993, when she joined the faculty at the University of Central Arkansas as an assistant professor. She was later promoted to associate professor and then served as the associate dean of undergraduate studies.

Draves’ husband, Jeff, is a 1985 Monmouth graduate who served with her on the College’s chemistry faculty during the couple’s first stint in Monmouth. A physical, computational and environmental chemist, Jeff also served as professor of chemistry and data science at Graceland University. The Draves have twin boys, William and Benjamin, who are both liberal arts college graduates. They were blessed with a daughter, Alison, who they lost in 2007.