Ralph Marshall Dravo graduated from Lehigh in 1889 with a degree in metallurgy. He was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity, the Whist Club, the Engineering Society, the Toothpick Dining Club, and St. Andrew's Guild. Despite his engineering major, Dravo found his true calling as a financier managing the fiscal affairs for the fledgling Dravo Corporation, founded by his brother, Frank, in 1890. When a cousin left the firm in 1893, Dravo became the company's treasurer. The corporation had built a reputation for quality and customer service, and the new treasurer was able to use that reputation to secure funding for the firm's expansion. Francis Rouaud Dravo graduated from Lehigh in 1887. During his time at the university he was involved in the Equestrian Club and the Engineering Society.

Dravo House is home to 258 first-year students, approximately one-third of which are women. The residence hall, located at the south end of Taylor Street, bears the name of two brothers, Ralph M. Dravo, Class of 1889, and Francis F. Dravo, Class of 1887, who founded the Dravo Corp., a Pittsburgh-based international construction company.