The University received a $4.75 million donation Thursday from Chevron Corp. The donation is the largest one-time donation from a corporation in LSU Foundation’s history. “It’s a moment of great pride for me personally because we are celebrating an extraordinary accomplishment and an extraordinary gift from an extraordinary corporation,” said Acting Chancellor William Jenkins. The College of Engineering will receive $3.9 million of the $4.75 million. The donation to the College of Engineering will be allocated in four separate funds. The Chevron Petroleum Engineering Emerging Faculty Recruitment Fund will receive $1 million to increase the ability of Craft and Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering to recruit and retain faculty in the petroleum engineering discipline. Another $1 million will be given to professors in all engineering disciplines to expand their research. The Post-Doctoral and Graduate Student Fellowship Fund will receive $1 million to help the College of Engineering promote students to receive post-doctorate and graduate degrees at the University. A program that will be based in the Department of Petroleum Engineering will receive $900,000 which will benefit all engineering and basic sciences students to better prepare them to work in the industry. Zaki Bassiouni, dean of the College of Engineering, said this investment is a sign that Chevron is proud of what the department is doing. Chevron is also continuing its funding of University scholarships and department grants with $850,000 that will go to the College of Engineering, College of Basic Sciences and the E.J. Ourso College of Business. “LSU has played a very important role in our company,” said Gary Luquette, president of Chevron North America Exploration and Production. “We have, over the years, benefited tremendously from all of the professional recruits we have gotten out of all the universities [in Louisiana].” Chevron has more than 400 current employees across the globe that have graduated from the University. “When one thinks of Chevron, they normally think of petrotechnical careers,” said William Lane, interim dean of the E.J. Ourso College of Business. “We … are very proud of our students who once walked our halls and are now contributing their skills to Chevron.” Prior to Chevron’s donation Thursday, the company had given more than $2.4 million to the University. “A lot of the recruits [from the University] that we bring into our company understand the industry they are entering,” said Luquette, a Louisiana native. “They tend to make more productive employees earlier in their careers.” Astrid Merget, executive vice chancellor and provost, said the Flagship Agenda serves as a beacon of excellence and Chevron’s donation helps the University’s progress. “This gift affirms our Flagship Agenda,” Merget said. “This gift makes a critical difference in propelling this University, its faculty and its students from being very good to being excellent.” Kevin Carman, dean of the College of Basic Sciences, thanked Chevron for the portion of the donation that goes to discretionary use. “That is extremely valuable to us to be able to have the discretion to use those funds for issues that come up from time to time that are unanticipated,” Carman said.
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