On January 27, ABET Past President Stanley I. Proctor, Jr., passed away at the age of 84. Proctor provided decades of volunteer service to the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and to ABET. He held numerous leadership positions at every level of both organizations.
Proctor earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in chemical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis. He joined Monsanto in 1959 as a systems engineer, where he held a number of technical and managerial positions until his retirement in 1993 as director of engineering technology and services in the chemical group. That same year, he formed Proctor Consulting Services, specializing in technology and personnel management.
Throughout his career, Proctor gave back to the professional and academic communities through his technical and professional societies. He became a Program Evaluator representing AIChE in 1980 and went on to serve as AIChE President in 1987 and 1998-2000 Chair of the AIChE Foundation Board of Trustees.
Proctor became the AIChE representative on the ABET Board of Directors in 1990 and served as 1996-1997 ABET President. His tenure coincided with the adoption of ABET Engineering Criteria 2000 (EC2000) in 1997. His leadership and support were integral to its success.
Proctor served on the Industry Advisory Council (IAC) of ABET as well as the U.S. Council on International Engineering Practice (USCIEP) and its Monitoring Committee. In addition to his many leadership positions, Proctor received distinguished awards from his professional societies. He was the recipient of eight AIChE honors, including the F. J. & Dorothy Van Antwerpen Award in 1993 and the Founders Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Chemical Engineering in 1989. Proctor was a 25+ year AIChE Fellow and a 2000 ABET Fellow. The Society of Women Engineers awarded him the Rodney D. Chipp Memorial Award for supporting the development of women engineers in the workplace.
Proctor’s alma mater also recognized his many contributions and presented him with the Alumni Achievement Award in 1995 and the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2005.
We are extremely grateful for the leadership and expertise Stanley I. Proctor gave to ABET and his professional societies, and he will be missed. Read his full obituary here.