Monmouth welcomes President Draves home
Karli Strom - Editor in Chief
Monmouth College welcomed Patricia Draves home, where she was inaugurated as the college’s 15th president during homecoming weekend.
“I’m so honored and humbled to be entrusted with this responsibility and in return I commit to the Monmouth community, all of you,” said Draves.
Draves previously taught chemistry at Monmouth, serving alongside her husband and Monmouth alumnus, Jeff. She later moved on to become the vice president for academic affairs at Mount Union University of Ohio and served as president at Graceland University in Iowa for the last seven years.
In her message, “Rooted in Legacy, Growing our Future,” Draves shared her commitment to cultivating a strong campus community and to the values of Monmouth College.
“Monmouth College is a living breathing entity. One that has the power to adapt and to grow. Together we will forge a path toward a future filled with promise, filled with innovation and opportunity,” said Draves. “A future that is rooted in our legacy, while embracing the boundless potential of what is yet to come as we grow into the future.”
Monmouth’s 12th president, Richard Giese, introduced Draves. He had worked alongside Draves at Mount Union. Giese said Draves' style of collaborative leadership aligns with the core values of Monmouth.
Draves’ sons, Benjamin and William, spoke at the inauguration. They shared their excitement to see their mom return to Monmouth, stating she came to the final decision to return to Monmouth in line for a ride at Disney World.
“Her compassion, thoughtfulness, endurance and joy make her an incredible mother, and we think it will make her a fantastic college president too,” said Benjamin.
Kamea Graham ’26 spoke on behalf of the student body at the inauguration. She had the opportunity to meet President Draves during the Doc Kieft Summer Research Program.
“I remember thinking to myself just how refreshing her energy is, and when you talk to her you can tell how authentic and genuine she is and that she truly loves our college and the students here,” said Graham.
Graham is hopeful for the outlook of Monmouth under the new leadership of Draves. “In this short time, she has already poured so much into our campus. I know I speak for everyone when I say we’re so excited to see how our campus will continue to grow and blossom with president Draves,” said Graham.
Draves outlined her plans for Monmouth College moving forward:
- Increasing enrollment
- An emphasis on integrating the overall Monmouth experience for students with the academic programs
- Expanding the “culture of connection” to “expand our classrooms for our students” at Monmouth
- Delivering affordable and quality education
- A strong “digital transformation” that can equip students in an increasingly connected world.
Draves looks forward to working with not only the campus community, but the local community, too.
“We have core values as a college. Those are things like curiosity, service, leadership, and the commitment to transform students,” said Draves. “My values as a leader are obviously those same things and doing all those things with integrity and good collaboration with the community.”
While everyone soaked up the celebration of her inauguration, Draves hopes that there won’t be another for a while. “Who knows when the next inauguration’s going to be; I hope to be here for a while. I hope it’s ten years or plus more from that.”