Enid Couple Establish OSU Petroleum Engineering Chair to Support Emerging Program

Oklahoma State University announced today a $500,000 gift from Enid, Okla. residents Lew & Myra Ward to create a petroleum engineering chair at OSU.  Once fully matched dollar-for-dollar by T. Boone Pickens’ $100 million chair match commitment, as well as the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, the gift will have the impact of $2.2 million in endowed funds.

The Founder of Ward Petroleum, Lew began the company in 1963 near Enid, Okla. Since that time Ward Petroleum has drilled more than 800 wells in the Anadarko and Arkoma Basins, some as deep as 22,000 feet. This gift will create the Lew and Myra Ward 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 the Ward family’s continued commitment to this university.” 

In order to take full advantage of the state’s dollar-for-dollar match, and make the most significant impact on OSU academics, the Wards 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.  

“I gave because there is a great need for engineers and President Hargis asked me to help,” said Lew Ward.  “We would like to build a fleet of engineers!”

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.

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.  

The Oklahoma State University 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.

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