Governance

G. Robert Couch graduated from Missouri S&T in 1941 with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering and subsequently awarded a professional degree in metallurgical engineering at Missouri S&T in 1976. He also held a Master of Science degree in chemical engineering from Newark College of Engineering and was a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. He served in the U.S. Army from 1945 to 1946.

During a distinguished career in the mining industry, Robert Couch held a number of leadership positions, retiring as president of the Specialty Division of AMAX Inc., a mining services company with expertise in coal, copper, gold, aluminum, molybdenum, lithium, oil and natural gas. AMAX was acquired by Cyprus Minerals Company in 1993. He also served his peers and colleagues as president of the Metallurgical Society and a member of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers.

Robert Couch and Roberta Nielson were married in 1950. A graduate of Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, Roberta was active in the Women’s Auxiliary of the Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, serving as national president. She died in 2000. Robert Couch later married Christina Ferretti. He died in 2010.