ConocoPhillips Donates $1 Million to Oklahoma State University

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) today announced that the company has donated $1 million toward building a new home for Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business. In appreciation for this gift, OSU is naming the building’s social and collaborative area the ConocoPhillips Student Lounge.

This contribution is in addition to ConocoPhillips’ ongoing annual support for scholarships, programs, faculty and facilities across the OSU system.

“Oklahoma State University is grateful for the continuing support of ConocoPhillips and its employees, including many OSU graduates,” OSU President Burns Hargis said. “ConocoPhillips is OSU’s largest corporate donor, giving nearly $40 million through the years along with hiring countless alumni. ConocoPhillips is an Oklahoma business pioneer and leader, so we are delighted and grateful the company is helping build the new home for our business school.”

The new building will serve as the eastern anchor of the university’s main quad. It will significantly increase the space for Spears School of Business’ 5,000 students and faculty members, becoming a magnet for attracting the region’s best minds to engage in dialogue about business, entrepreneurship, economics, law and policy issues.

The ConocoPhillips Student Lounge will be a gathering place for undergraduate and graduate students, providing a central and dynamic location for collaboration, studying and relaxation between classes. The space will be filled with natural light and include ample comfortable seating, computers, study tables and entertainment options to accommodate the needs and desires of today’s busy students. Students will also help in the design process to ensure it is the most inviting and visible space for their peers.

“Oklahoma State University continues to provide ConocoPhillips with top talent,” said Ken Seaman, ConocoPhillips’ executive sponsor for OSU and a university alum. “We’re proud to continue to support the university and the Spears School of Business through this investment.”

Seaman, an assistant controller with ConocoPhillips, presented the $1 million check to OSU’s Dr. Ken Eastman, interim dean and associate professor of management, Spears School of Business, during a special ceremony this morning on ConocoPhillips’ downtown campus in Bartlesville, Okla.

“We are proud of the relationship we have forged with ConocoPhillips and are humbled by this gift to our new business building,” says Eastman. “The Student Lounge is a perfect way to honor the many Spears School graduates that ConocoPhillips has hired over the years. We look forward to continuing our partnership with ConocoPhillips so that more of our students can build great careers there.”

For more information on the nationally acclaimed Spears School of Business and its progress on the state-of-the-art new facility, visit spears.okstate.edu.