Tom Freeman

Tom Freeman

B.S. Chemical Engineering, 1982

College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Executive Advisory Board 

  “Being in the stadium when we beat Alabama 6-3 in Jackson in 1980 for the first time in about 25 years was my best sports experience,” said Tom Freeman, a 1982 MSU graduate who today serves on the College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Executive Advisory Board. 

Freeman graduated with a degree in chemical engineering and said he chose to attend MSU for the opportunities he would be provided. “I chose to go to State starting in Fall 1978 as it was affordable and had a good program in my major. The university also offered a co-op program. In 1978, the co-op program was not offered at all universities,” Freeman said. “I used the co-op program to be able to pay for school by alternating working one semester and then school for one semester. I had five co-op terms working, but was still able to graduate in only four and a half years.” 

Since graduating, Freeman has led a long, fulfilling career. “After graduating in December 1982, I went to work for Dow Chemical. I had a couple of opportunities as a young engineer to interact with Hunter Henry, who was a State graduate and basically the number two person at Dow at that time. Dow had a number of MSU grads throughout its organization. I worked for Dow for about 25 years at multiple sites. I left Dow and went to work for Dover Chemical for seven years, retiring as Executive VP of Operations,” Freeman said. “Afterwards, I was a part-time consultant for a company called The Sinclair Group out of Houston for about 10 years.  My career really focused on plant operations and I was able to continue that in retirement.” 

“My education here at State played a role in that I learned here the requirements of developing and executing good plans and working well with others at all different levels in an organization,” Freeman said of his MSU education.

His advice to students is to take risks and be flexible in their careers. “First, be willing to take some calculated risks in your career. I had the opportunity to take some assignments in my career that were not ‘the norm.’ As a result, I had a chance to learn and demonstrate some skills early in my career. Second, be adaptable. I had a chance also in my career to interact in a lot of different cultures. There are lots of ways to solve problems. There is more than one right way to proceed,” Freeman said. 

When asked to describe his MSU experience in one word, he chose “fantastic.” 

“I have absolutely no regrets coming to Mississippi State. I enjoyed my time here and it prepared me well for my career.”