Tulsa-based Samson Investment Company donates $1 million for OSU petroleum engineering chair
Friday, July 11, 2008
Gift will help establish petroleum minor at OSU
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The gift will create the Samson Investment Company Chair in Petroleum Engineering,
which will be housed within the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology
(CEAT).
“The response from our alumni and friends has exceeded our wildest expectations,”
said OSU President Burns Hargis. “Inspired by Boone Pickens’ astounding generosity,
donors answered the call to make a lasting difference and open a new and exciting
chapter at OSU. We sincerely appreciate what Stacy Schusterman and Samson Investment
Company are doing for OSU academics and research.”
In order to take full advantage of the state’s dollar-for-dollar match, and make the
most significant impact on OSU academics, Samson 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.
In discussing the gift, Stacy Schusterman, Chairman and CEO of Samson, said, “In the
1980s OSU offered a petroleum engineering minor, but this program was discontinued
in the late 80s due to the downturn in the oil and gas industry. We are excited to
have the opportunity to be a part of its revitalization both at the Stillwater and
Tulsa campuses of OSU.
“We are pleased that OSU recognized the need to offer a petroleum engineering minor
to its students selecting other engineering majors to expand the knowledge base and
options for these students career wise within the oil and gas industry with companies
such as Samson,” Schusterman said.
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.”
Jean Van Delinder, chair of the OSU Faculty Council, said, “OSU is poised for growth
and further prominence but to realize its full potential we must continue to attract
and retain top scholars and researchers. These chairs highlight the important role
that scholarship and teaching play at Oklahoma State University, and they are made
possible through the generous support of donors who value excellence in scholarship
and want to help OSU continue to nurture a strong faculty.”
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.