Faculty member receives national advising award

Deavenport

Earnest W. Deavenport Jr. ('60), chairman and chief executive officer of Eastman Chemical Co., was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering at October ceremonies in Washington, D.C.

Election to the academy is among the highest professional distinctions an engineer can receive. Membership honors those who have made "important contributions to engineering theory and practice" and who have demonstrated "unusual accomplishment in the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology."

"It is indeed an honor to be elected to the National Academy of Engineering," Deavenport said. "I am gratified that the issues of quality principles and environmental stewardship, which are hallmarks of Eastman, are also being recognized for their importance in the field of engineering."

A Macon native, Deavenport received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering at Mississippi State. In 1985, as a Sloan Fellow, he earned a master's degree in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joined Eastman in 1960 as a chemical engineer.

In 1994, he became chairman and CEO of Eastman Chemical Co., after guiding the spin-off from Eastman Kodak. Under his leadership, Eastman has become the fifth largest publicly held chemical company in the United States.

Deavenport won the honor award from the Commercial Development Association in 1997, recognizing his role as a chemical industry executive leader in bringing new products and processes to the market.

He received the Kavaler Award, the industry's highest recognition for chief executive excellence, in 1996. He is past chairman of the Chemical Manufacturers Association, vice chairman of the National Association of Manufacturers, and president of the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award Foundation.

Eastman Chemical manufactures and markets chemicals, fibers, and plastics, employing 17,500 people in more than 30 countries. In 1996, the company had sales of $4.8 billion. Corporate headquarters is in Kingsport, Tenn.