Texas oilman donates $1 million to help kick-start OSU's petroleum engineering program
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Courson gift to create super chair within engineering college
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The owner of Courson Oil and Gas, Harold studied at OSU (then Oklahoma A&M) in 1952
before leaving to help his uncle in the oil drilling business.
“We sincerely appreciate Harold and Joyce Courson’s major commitment to OSU and this
important area of study,” said OSU President Burns Hargis. “The response from our
alumni and friends has exceeded our wildest expectations. Inspired by Boone Pickens’
astounding generosity, donors answered the call to make a lasting difference and open
a new and exciting chapter at OSU.”
In order to take full advantage of the state’s dollar-for-dollar match, and make the
most significant impact on OSU academics, the Coursons made the gift prior to the
July 1 change in the state’s endowed chair matching program. This gift is part of
the $66.8 million in endowed faculty gifts OSU announced recently.
The Harold Courson Chair in Petroleum Engineering will be housed in the College of
Engineering, Architecture and Technology.
“We’ve always been big fans of OSU and many of our family members have attended and
graduated from the university,” said Harold. “Yet, we never felt OSU did enough to
educate kids about the oil and gas field. But now there’s a need and a program to
create the education, and we think this small contribution could make a difference
somewhere down the road to the benefit of the industry.”
OSU’s College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology is developing the new interdisciplinary
petroleum engineering program, which will include both instructional and research
dimensions. A cornerstone of the program will be an undergraduate petroleum minor
involving five courses designed for students in various fields of engineering. The
intent of the petroleum minor is to better prepare students who have committed early
to enter the petroleum industry, as well as to encourage others. Plans also call
for the development of an interdisciplinary research program, along with companion
M.S. and Ph.D. programs to prepare graduates for research and development careers
in the industry.
“The response to the development of our new interdisciplinary thrust in petroleum
engineering has been overwhelming”, said Karl Reid, Dean of the College of Engineering,
Architecture and Technology. “With this gift, and other very generous contributions
from our alumni and friends, our focus in petroleum engineering has received a tremendous
jump start and will soon be among the very best in the nation.”
Endowed professorships and chairs are academic designations which provide support
for faculty salary, graduate assistantships, equipment and research needs, as well
as other support. These endowed faculty positions allow a university to attract and
retain the best and the brightest academic minds in the world.