HOUSTON AND LUBBOCK – ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) and Texas Tech University recently announced a $1 million gift from ConocoPhillips to establish a student recruitment and support center in the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering.
The new center will be named the ConocoPhillips Center for Engineering Enrichment and Diversity for a period of five years in recognition of the company’s contribution.
Located in the Engineering Center building, the ConocoPhillips Center for Engineering Enrichment and Diversity will enhance recruiting efforts among historically underrepresented groups and serve as a central location for student academic support services within the Whitacre College of Engineering. The center will also unite existing programs to better serve current and prospective engineering students at Texas Tech in support of the college’s goal to increase student diversity over the next five years.
The center will house the ConocoPhillips Bridge Program, which provides academic skills training, tutoring, peer mentoring and other academic support services for incoming freshmen engineering students, as well as the ConocoPhillips Diversity Lecture Series, which provides semiannual lectures on diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.
“We are truly grateful for the continued generosity of ConocoPhillips,” said Chancellor Kent Hance. “They have been great corporate partners over the years, and this $1 million gift will further Texas Tech’s commitment to providing the top services and resources for our engineering students to succeed.”
The center will also support a number of existing student diversity programs within the Whitacre College of Engineering, including the Figuerora Family Enrichment Program, the Joella Childress Carlyon Phoenix Program and the college’s tutoring programs. It also will support and coordinate activities for the college’s alliance of student diversity organizations, providing guest lectures, internship opportunities and other activities for student members.
“Our industry’s future success depends on a highly talented, innovative, diverse and technical workforce,” said Tom Mathiasmeier, ConocoPhillips president, North America Gas & Power, and Texas Tech alumnus. “We’re pleased to continue our longstanding commitment to the Texas Tech engineering program by establishing the ConocoPhillips Center for Engineering Enrichment and Diversity. Diversity and inclusion is a priority for us at ConocoPhillips and we’re proud to be able to extend this important initiative to the engineering students at Texas Tech.”
To help increase enrollments of underrepresented groups in engineering programs, the ConocoPhillips Center for Engineering Enrichment and Diversity will expand the college’s recruiting efforts in diverse Texas school districts. Select high school students from these districts will be invited to visit the Texas Tech campus in Lubbock to experience college life firsthand, with travel costs provided by the center.
The center will also invite guidance counselors and advisers from select school districts to visit Texas Tech for the ConocoPhillips Engineering Weekend Showcase, a two-day campus event highlighting the Whitacre College of Engineering and the student diversity and support programs available through the ConocoPhillips Center for Engineering Enrichment and Diversity.
“The ConocoPhillips gift will allow us to help all students be successful in engineering,” said Al Sacco Jr., dean of the Whitacre College of Engineering. “Our students often drop out of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, fields because they did not receive the correct background in high school for the rigors of such fields. This center will allow us to provide the help needed to fill in those gaps and keep good students on track for a successful career in engineering."
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CUTLINE - Texas Tech Chancellor Kent Hance and Dean of Engineering Al Sacco accept a $1 million check from Tom Mathiasmeier, ConocoPhillips president, North America Gas & Power.
About ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips is the world’s largest independent E&P company based on production and proved reserves. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, ConocoPhillips had operations and activities in 27 countries, $54 billion in annual revenue, $118 billion of total assets, and approximately 18,400 employees as of Dec. 31, 2013. Production from continuing operations averaged 1,502 MBOED in 2013, and preliminary proved reserves were 8.9 billion BOE as of Dec. 31, 2013. For more information, go to www.conocophillips.com.
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Contacts
ConocoPhillips
Andrea Urbanek
281-293-3472
Andrea.urbanek@cop.com
Texas Tech
Chris Cook
806-742-2136
chris.cook@ttu.edu
Dailey Fuller
806-742-0057
dailey.fuller@ttu.edu