An endowed chair is a faculty position that is supported by an endowment.
STILLWATER (AP) — Chesapeake Energy Corp. is giving $1 million to Oklahoma State University for the creation of a professorship dedicated to the teaching of petroleum geosciences.
OSU President Burns Hargis said the endowed chair will allow the university to attract an internationally known scholar in that field. He said the gift will help shape the future of OSU’s School of Geology and help the state produce more geologists.
Chesapeake chairman and chief executive officer Aubrey McClendon said the gift is an investment to ensure the Oklahoma City-based company has a continuous pool of students who want to apply their knowledge in earth and environmental sciences.
Chesapeake is the third-largest overall producer of natural gas in the United States.
The company’s donation was the second major gift announced by OSU in as many days. On Monday, the university said Waukomis rancher Barry Pollard had given $250,000 to establish a professorship focused on agribusiness.
OSU officials say both gifts were prompted by a $100 million donation made by last month by billionaire energy magnate and OSU alumnus T. Boone Pickens. As part of the gift, Pickens agreed that his donation could be used to match other donor gifts to faculty chairs and professorships.
An endowed chair is a teaching position funded from proceeds of investments.
The gifts by Chesapeake and Pollard will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the state under a program established by the state two decades ago.
As part of the agreement on a $100 million bond package designed to address the backlog of endowed chairs awaiting state matching funds, legislators placed a temporary moratorium on matches of donations made to the program until the state catches up on the backlog. The moratorium will take effect July 1.
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