As geosciences technical manager for ExxonMobil’s U.S. production, Mike Gaskins knows a thing or two about the oil industry. So when Oklahoma State University’s Pickens School of Geology made it clear more support was needed for its graduate students, Gaskins jumped into action.

The 1980 geology graduate and his wife, Sue, have pledged $100,000 to build the Michael and Susan Gaskins Geology Graduate Fellowship Fund in the College of Arts & Sciences. The donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Pickens Legacy Scholarship Match, bringing the total impact to $200,000 in endowed funds.

Gaskins said after growing up on a farm between the tiny Oklahoma towns of Beggs (about 1,500 people) and Slick (about 150 people), he believed his career options were limited.

“I came to Oklahoma State and through my degrees and the things I learned at OSU, it opened doors that I never would have had open to me,” Gaskins said. “I have had an incredibly successful career at ExxonMobil. As I look back on that, what made a difference was my degree at Oklahoma State. I felt so grateful for that. That is why my wife and I felt so strongly about giving back to the school.”

OSU President Burns Hargis expressed the university’s appreciation for this boost to student support.
“We are extremely grateful to Mike and Sue Gaskins for their tremendous generosity,” Hargis said. “This gift will provide life-changing support for our students. We have been overwhelmed by the response of our loyal alumni and friends as we pursue our commitment to raise $500 million for scholarships and graduate fellowships during our Branding Success campaign.”

OSU Foundation President and CEO Kirk Jewell said this donation represents a big step forward for geology at OSU.

“We are so appreciative that Mike and Sue are seizing this wonderful opportunity to provide significant financial support for graduate students in the school of Geology,” Jewell stated.  “We are so fortunate that our former students are willing to give back to the university that enabled their success.” 

Gaskins has long taken advantage of ExxonMobil’s generous 3:1 charitable gift program, which quadruples his donations to the OSU Foundation. Then T. Boone Pickens added his $100 million challenge gift to double qualifying scholarships, meaning his gift has eight times its normal impact.

“That’s pretty amazing,” Gaskins said. “We would be giving anyway, but when you can combine our giving with what our company does and at this time the great generosity of Mr. Pickens, it really is an excellent time to give and leverage those extra funds. I love the way Mr. Pickens puts out the challenge and says, ‘I’ll give a certain amount if others see value in that too.’ That way he is able to use his seed money to really grow an endowment.”

Gerald McElvy, president of the ExxonMobil Foundation, said his company is proud of its gift-matching program.

“These donations are a remarkable testament to the value placed on higher education by ExxonMobil employees and retirees,” McElvy said. “They represent investments in the future, and provide much-needed funds for colleges and universities to increase their level of excellence.”

Endowed scholarships leave a lasting impact at Oklahoma State by balancing current spending of investment return with the reinvestment of return to ensure support of students into the future.

The Pickens Legacy Scholarship Match was initiated on Feb. 26 at the Branding Success campaign launch event where Pickens pledged a $100 million matching gift opportunity for donations of at least $50,000 directed to scholarship endowments before Oct. 31, 2010. For more information on the Pickens Legacy Scholarship Match, visit OSUgiving.com/PickensMatch.

The OSU Foundation serves as the private fundraising organization for OSU, as designated by the OSU Regents. Its mission is to unite donor and university passions and priorities to achieve excellence.

Oklahoma’s only university with a statewide presence, Oklahoma State University is a five-campus, public land-grant educational system that improves the lives of people in Oklahoma, the nation, and the world through integrated, high-quality teaching, research and outreach.  OSU has more than 32,000 students across its system and nearly 21,000 on its Stillwater campus; with students from all 50 states and around 110 nations.  Established in 1890, OSU has graduated more than 200,000 students who have made a lasting impact on Oklahoma and the world.

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