Frank Chrencik
BS 1937 in Chemical Engineering
Frank Chrencik, originally an Osage, Iowa farm boy,
completed the Advanced Management Program of the Harvard Graduate School
of Business at Cambridge, Massachusetts. He began his career with the
General Chemical Division of Allied Chemical & Dye Corporation by
assuming chemical production and plant construction duties at various
locations. While serving active duty as a reserve officer in the Chemical
Corps of the Army, he spent time at
the Army Chemical Center in Maryland
and eventually the Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Colorado as Chief of Operations.
He separated from the military service with rank of Lt. Colonel, after
being a member of General MacArthur's Armed Forces of the Western Pacific.
He resumed his business career by joining Diamond Alkali Company in 1946
and was placed in charge of a chemical plant leased from the Government
at Army Chemical Center in Maryland. Shortly thereafter,
he was transferred to Diamond's newly established chemical complex on
the Houston ship channel in Texas. In 1956 he was promoted from the position
of General Manager of Diamond's large new Texas chemical complex to General
Manager of the Electro Chemicals Division, and eventually was elected
Vice President of the company.
In 1969, Mr. Chrencik became President and Chief Executive Officer of Terra Chemicals International, Inc. of Sioux City, Iowa. He ended his association of 26 years with the Diamond Shamrock Corporation and joined Vulcan Materials Company in 1972, where he became a director, a member of the Executive Committee and a Corporate Executive Vice President and Chief Executive for the management of Vulcan's chemicals and secondary metals business segments. He was Vice Chairman of the Board of Vulcan Materials Company up until his retirement in 1979, serving as Consultant and Emeritus Director until his death in February 2006.
He was a member of the UI Presidents Club, and a member of the International Advisory Committee for the publication of the Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing and Design. He served on the Editorial Advisory Committee of Chemical Week Magazine and the Advisory Council of the Chemical Corps of the Army. He received the Alabama Outstanding Chemical Engineering Award in 1983 from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He was involved in several professional organizations on a national level, as well as serving on the editorial board of two professional journals. He also supported Rotary and Kiwanis clubs, was involved in health fund drives and helped form chapters of the National Hemophilia Foundation. He actively supported the UI Alumni Association and the UI Foundation, and was awarded the UI Distinguished Alumni Award for Achievement.