The gift of giving- Wayne Allen makes lasting impact through two scholarships

Friday, October 28, 2011

When Wayne Allen is asked about the students who have received the two endowed scholarships he started in the Oklahoma State University College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology his face lights up like a proud parent.

“It’s just like raising your own kids,” Allen says.  “They come to us as freshmen and you can’t believe the evolution by the time they leave OSU.”

“Sometimes I think I know these students better than their own parents,” Allen added.

Since beginning the W.W. Allen Scholars Program and W.W. Allen Boys and Girls Club Scholarship Program about 10 years ago, Allen has taken a personal interest and joy in seeing the students mature and flourish in the engineering field.  

Allen graduated from OSU with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1959 and a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering in 1969.  He began his career at Phillips Petroleum (now ConocoPhillips) in 1961 and rose to the ranks of Chairman and CEO before his retirement.

The W.W. Allen Scholars program is considered the premier engineering scholars program in the nation.

The program awards recipients an annual scholarship throughout their undergraduate studies at OSU followed by the opportunity for graduate study abroad at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.  

“The central purpose of the W. W. Allen Scholars Program is to initiate the development of future intellectual leaders who are committed to enriching the quality of life for others,” said Karl Reid, OSU Regents Service Professor and former CEAT dean.

The Boys and Girls Club Scholarship is for students who are actively enrolled in a local Boys and Girls Club and have been admitted to OSU.  This program awards scholarships in the amount of $15,000 annually.  

The real value of both of these scholarship programs is the personal mentoring the scholars receive from Allen.  

“Being an Allen Scholar is the biggest honor I have ever received.  Mr. Allen has made a lasting investment into my future that has the influence to open every door and window of opportunity I will face in my life,” said W.W. Allen Scholar Nick Copeland.  

Copeland said he began to grasp the true impact of Allen’s gift during his visit to Cambridge over Fall Break this month.  

“I am realizing more daily the enormous gift, privilege and responsibility Mr. Allen has granted me by having the title of Allen Scholar.”

Allen believes these students are the best of the best and he wants them to complete college ready to be just as successful personally and professionally as they were academically.  

“A truly successful person is someone who has found something more important than themselves,” Allen said.  

“And that’s what I am hopefully teaching the students.”
There are a total of 14 students who are currently benefiting from Allen’s two scholars programs at OSU.