SUNY Potsdam Alumni Present 2016 Minerva Award to Robert E. Margevich '79

Robert E. Margevich, Hon. '79, Recognized with Minerva Award, the Highest Honor Bestowed by SUNY Potsdam Alumni Association

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From left, SUNY Potsdam President Kristin Esterberg, 2016 Minerva Award recipient Robert E. Margevich, Hon. ’79, and Alumni Association President Amy Kellogg ’99.

POTSDAM, NY (07/21/2016)(readMedia)-- The SUNY Potsdam Alumni Association recently presented the 2016 Minerva Award to Robert E. Margevich, Hon. '79, during the College's Bicentennial Reunion Weekend.

The Minerva Award is presented annually to an alumnus or alumna who has demonstrated outstanding professional achievement in his or her field. It is the highest honor that a SUNY Potsdam graduate can receive from the association. Margevich was recognized for his outstanding professional achievements in the field of chemistry.

Margevich arrived at SUNY Potsdam in 1975, as a chemistry and geology major. However, life circumstances altered his initial plans, and required him to leave Potsdam prematurely in 1977, without completing his degree. Looking for work, Margevich found employment with AkzoNobel, now the largest global paints and coatings company, and a major producer of specialty chemicals throughout the world. He began work as a chemical operator in Burt, N.Y., at one of the company's specialty chemicals plants.

Recognized for his hard work, knowledge, leadership and vision, Margevich worked his way up through the company. Beginning in 1995, international opportunities and further promotions presented themselves. With that, he and his wife Kay (whom he met and fell in love with while at Potsdam), relocated their family to the Netherlands, where Margevich served as the business manager for organic peroxides for the greater Europe region. In 1999, the family moved to Singapore, when Margevich was promoted to vice president of the Asia Pacific region for AkzoNobel Polymer Chemicals.

Margevich was named president and managing director of AkzoNobel Polymer Chemicals in 2002, and his family returned to the United States, settling in Chicago. Following a successful five years at the helm, he was asked once again to go abroad, this time to the Netherlands, to lead AkzoNobel Functional Chemicals, the corporation's largest business unit and the most important asset in the company.

While there, Margevich facilitated the very first paid international internship in SUNY Potsdam's history. This life-changing six-month experience illustrates the transformative impact that Potsdam alumni can have upon students, and served as a catalyst for the campus to create what is now known as SUNY Potsdam's Center for Applied Learning. The Margevich family returned to Chicago in 2011, where he served as president and managing director of AkzoNobel Surface Chemistry, until his retirement in June 2013.

Among his many laudable accomplishments and points of pride, perhaps the most meaningful was granted in 2005, when both Bob and Kay Margevich were granted Honorary Lifetime Membership to the Class of 1979 by the SUNY Potsdam Alumni Association.

To find out more about how SUNY Potsdam connects with its devoted alumni, visit www.potsdam.edu/alumni.

Founded in 1816, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America's first 50 colleges -- and the oldest institution within SUNY. As the College marks its bicentennial in 2016, SUNY Potsdam will celebrate a 200-year legacy of pioneering programs and educational excellence. The College currently enrolls approximately 4,100 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its challenging liberal arts and sciences core, distinction in teacher training and leadership in the arts. Empowered by a culture of creativity, the campus community is nearing the completion of Take the Lead: The Campaign for Potsdam, which has raised $33.5 million for scholarships and programs.

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