South Dakota
Mines’ chemical and biological engineering department has been renamed the Karen
M. Swindler Department of
Chemical and Biological Engineering after the Mines alumna who passed away in
2018. This is the first time in the United States that a university chemical
and biological engineering department has been named after a woman. The Swindler
family has also made the largest gift in university history, a $4 million
donation, in memory of Karen.
“This is a gift that will make a direct impact on our
students for generations to come,” says Mines President Jim Rankin, Ph.D. “Karen
was an instrumental leader who was a passionate supporter of her alma mater. This
endowment extends her legacy in perpetuity. We are deeply grateful for the generosity
of her family.”
Swindler graduated from Mines in 1988 with a degree
in chemical engineering. She went on to build an illustrious career that
included more
than 25 years of leadership in the chemical engineering industry. She began her
career at Exxon working with the Isoamylene and Linear Paraffins Units. She
received three improvement awards for 55% chemical cost reductions and
improving performance in the utilities area at Exxon. In 1993, Swindler
transferred to LyondellBasell, the third largest independent chemical company
in the world, as an olefins production engineer in Clinton, Iowa. She excelled
quickly, serving as olefins production superintendent, manager, and plant
manager. She was promoted to director of global operations planning and
scheduling; vice president of health, safety, and operational excellence;
general manager of manufacturing; and divisional vice president of polymers
manufacturing, North America; and included service as senior vice president of
manufacturing, Americas. She was one of the only women in charge of
manufacturing for an S&P Fortune 500 company. She credited her education at
Mines for giving her a practical skillset enabling her success in life.
“Her passion and enthusiasm were just phenomenal. In my 40 years
in industry and academia, I can say that her combination of charisma,
integrity, ethics, honesty, philanthropy, and work ethic was a real rarity,”
says Robb Winter, Ph.D., professor and former department head of chemical and
biological engineering at Mines.
“This gift embodies what Karen valued most as a leader and
visionary, which is opportunity, development, and innovation for students,
chemical engineering, and the university,” says Kenneth Benjamin, Ph.D., interim
department head of chemical and biological engineering at Mines.
Swindler gave back to the university through volunteering:
recruiting students; presenting to university classes and organizations,
including as keynote speaker at the regional AIChE conference; serving on the
Chemical Engineering Advisory Board; and serving on the Alumni Association
Board of Directors including a term as president from September 2017 until she
passed away in July 2018. South Dakota Mines awarded Swindler a posthumous
honorary doctorate in winter 2018. The generous gift made by Lee Swindler and
his family honors her memory and contributions to the field of chemical
engineering and South Dakota Mines.
“Karen was a trailblazer, juggling an extremely successful career,
all the while making time for her family,” says Greg Hintgen, past Mines alumni
president and a family friend. “She had
such a passion for connecting and helping people and she acted as a mentor for
many students, recent graduates and alumni, helping them with career advice and
often making connections with others in the industry. I’m so glad to see her
being recognized in this way.”
Lee Swindler, Karen’s spouse, spoke on campus at
the Oct. 7, 2021, naming ceremony on behalf of the Swindler family. Lee is a
retired engineer with 30 years of experience in improving the automation of
industrial facilities. He grew up on a family farm in North Dakota and received
his electrical engineering degree from South Dakota Mines in the spring of
1988. Lee worked for Amoco and LyondellBasell chemical companies on the
manufacturing side and then for ENGlobal and Maverick Technologies on the
engineering services side before retiring in 2020. He worked in a variety of
positions, including plant engineer, project manager, maintenance manager,
corporate automation manager, and program manager. Lee and Karen have four
children and six grandchildren. Lee splits his time between homes in Fort
Collins, Colorado, and Oceanside, Oregon.