The Road Not Taken

Since its founding in 1887, Purdue University's School of Civil Engineering has been dedicated to the advancement of society – through not only research and implementation, but cultural progressiveness as well. One of the School's first significant cultural achievements came in 1897 with the graduation of Martha Dicks Stevens – Purdue's first female engineering graduate.

The credit for this trailblazing achievement goes entirely to Stevens herself, who broke the societal norms of that era and pursued her passion for civil engineering. To provide context for her achievement, Stevens’ degree predates the 19th Amendment (women’s right to vote) by 20 years. Other significant moments in history that her degree predates include: the creation of the automobile, the Wright brothers’ first powered flight, and Einstein's Theories of Relativity.

Martha was also a well-rounded student with several other interests. In addition to her being a part of Purdue Civil Engineering’s 10th graduating class, she earned a bachelor’s degree in 1894 and a master’s degree in 1898, both from the College of Science. She also served as president of the Purdue Photographic Club and as vice president of the University’s Philalethean Literary Society.

In the 120 years since Martha’s graduation, the Lyles School of Civil Engineering has had thousands of female students, staff and faculty walk through Hampton Hall. Many of these women have been at the forefront of research and industry and work to further promote women in engineering.

This year, we will honor Martha and some of the Purdue civil women who followed in her footsteps and advanced even further in the world of civil engineering.

Amplifying Impact: CE Alumnae Return to Purdue

Throughout the year, the Lyles School of Civil Engineering – in honor of the 120th anniversary of Martha Dicks Stevens’s graduation – will host a series of events and guest speakers to celebrate the accomplishments of our alumnae.

Our speakers are all alumnae themselves and at the forefront in their fields of research and their professions. They will share their experiences in both study and practice of their major. All of these speakers are inspiring women who want to encourage our School’s young men and women alike to work together and move forward as a society.

Featured Speaker: Martha Rees (BSCE '73)

October 26, 2017
View this seminar on our YouTube channel

After graduating from Purdue in 1973 with a degree in civil engineering, Rees started work for DuPont as an environmental engineer; her research focused on improving wastewater treatment processes with DuPont products. She then moved to manufacturing, where her concentration shifted to plant environmental regulatory compliance, an area that involved increased interaction with attorneys. Though Rees jokes that "Perry Mason" episodes constituted the extent of her legal knowledge before this time, this position would prove to be a pivotal point in her career, ultimately piquing her interest in attending law school.

In the summer of 1980, Rees moved to Washington, D.C., where she worked for DuPont as a lobbyist by day and attended Georgetown Law in the evening. “Working as a lobbyist was probably the most developmental experience I have had," Rees says.  “I really learned how to connect with and influence people. I came to understand how important it is to understand each particular audience and not assume that others see the issues the same way I do.”

After receiving her law degree, Rees worked on a broad range of assignments in the DuPont Legal Department, and in 1998, was appointed associate general counsel and chief environmental counsel.  Rees became vice president and assistant general counsel of DuPont Legal in 2006, where her responsibilities included international managerial responsibilities for DuPont's law departments outside the U.S., in addition to the commercial, environment/real estate, corporate/securities and merger and acquisitions practices for the worldwide function. She also served as the chief antitrust counsel for DuPont.  Rees retired from DuPont in 2015.

She is currently a member of the board and executive committee of the Purdue Alumni Association and has served on the Civil Engineering Advisory Council.  Rees received the Civil Engineering Alumni Achievement Award (’03) and the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award (’09) and is a Chapter Honor Member of Chi Epsilon.

Past Speakers

Doreen Mitchell (BSCE '81)
February 23, 2017

Growing up in Addison, Illinois, Doreen Mitchell dreamed of building skyscrapers in downtown Chicago. The thrill of watching construction take shape and a building rise steered her quickly toward civil engineering. Not in her wildest dreams, however, did she imagine she would become a working engineer at Walt Disney World.

After 30 years of leading traditional engineering projects at Disney, Mitchell says she found her most fulfilling role to be that of improving the guest experience through technology-based projects. From 2010 to 2014 she led Disney's project-management organization in the sitewide launch of MyMagic+, an interactive digital technology that allows Disney visitors to customize their experiences.

Throughout her career – whether she is understanding technical details and creating construction schedules or managing people on multimillion-dollar projects – Mitchell has continued to think like an engineer. "As I grew through Disney, I found a lot of the things that work in engineering also work in leading an organization," she says. "Engineers have a passion for making things better."

Employment: Vice President, Facility Asset Management - Walt Disney World Company

Accomplishments: Purdue University, Old Master, 2011; Purdue University, Civil Engineering Alumni Achievement Award, 2011; Walt Disney World Partners in Excellence Award for Lifetime Achievement; Purdue Distinguished Engineering Alum, 2017