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Mary Armstrong: A ChemE degree is a life changer

Mary Armstrong

Mary Armstrong (BS ’79) knows the value of a good education. The former Vice President of Environment, Health, and Safety for the Boeing Company, grew up watching her mother balance a fulltime job, a family, and night school while working toward an associate’s degree. Armstrong, learning the importance of a college degree by example, became the first in her family to earn a bachelor’s degree. Through a recently established scholarship, she is now making it possible for a new generation of students to earn a ChemE degree.

Mary Armstrong came to University with a passion for chemistry and the goals of receiving a degree and acquiring marketable skills for work after graduation. “I loved chemistry and wanted to be able to get a good job when I graduated. At that time, engineers were in huge demand so I thought that combining my natural interest in chemistry with engineering was a good choice,” said Armstrong. “It was one of the smartest decisions that I have ever made.”

With financial help from her family and the encouragement of her mother, Armstrong had the resources and motivation to get her ChemE degree. “My family was very supportive of me and all pitched in so that I could go to college,” she said. “My mother, who was a single parent, always stressed the importance of education. She worked fulltime and went to night school when I was young to earn her accounting associate degree. I saw how hard she worked, and I was very determined to get my degree.”

As an undergraduate, Armstrong found herself at home in the ChemE department. “The overall camaraderie at the department made me feel welcome even though I was pretty intimidated when I first came in as a junior.” Armstrong studied beside other female ChemE undergraduates, as the department had the highest percentage of female students in the College of Engineering at the time. “Several of my female classmates became close colleagues at Boeing,” she said.

After earning a master’s in Chemical Engineering from University of Rochester, Armstrong spent three years as a process engineer at the Chevron Research Company (then in Richmond, CA). But longing to return to the Pacific Northwest, she took a job with Boeing in its manufacturing research and development group. Over the next 27 years, Armstrong climbed the corporate ladder at Boeing, working as an engineer for both the commercial airplanes and electronics division, as a manager in environmental engineering areas, and ultimately a VP. “All of those assignments required a lot of ChemE background. As I moved through various management roles in different areas, I depended heavily on the ‘systems thinking’ that we learn as chemical engineers. It helped me move through increasingly higher levels of management at Boeing.” By the time of her retirement as VP of Environment, Health, and Safety, Armstrong implemented strategies for performance targets of 25 percent improvements in energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions intensity, hazardous waste generation, water consumption and recycling rates, as well as a target to improve workplace safety by 25 percent. The company has met or is on track to meet all these targets.

Armstrong has utilized her years of business experience as a member of Chemical Engineering Advisory Board. Joining in 2011, she has teamed up with other industrial leaders to advise the department and college leadership on critical matters like curriculum reform and research. “The chemical engineering education and degree was the single most important factor in my career success. I want to show my appreciation for the department by serving on the board,” she said. “I hope to help the department by continuing to help drive ‘business thinking and continuous improvement' into how the department runs.”

She’s also giving back to the department through a scholarship that was established this spring. The Armstrong Scholarship in Chemical Engineering will provide funding to a qualified Chemical Engineering undergraduate in need of financial assistance. Senior Arin Greenwood is the first Armstrong Scholar and will receive her scholarship this fall. Before receiving the scholarship, Arin said her family struggled to find the money for college, with her mother working three jobs and taking out loans to send Arin to college. “I created this scholarship to allow a person, who otherwise might not have the means, to get a degree in ChemE,” Armstrong said. “It’s truly a life changer for the individual, and the world needs more Chemical Engineers to solve our biggest global issues.”