John A. Brock received a B.S. in geological engineering in 1953 from OU. Following graduation, he served in the U.S. Army and, upon his discharge in 1955, went to work for Shell Oil Co. as a division reservoir engineer. He currently is a member of nine petroleum industry associations and serves as chairman of the board of Medallion Petroleum Inc., Soho Properties LLC, The AGOS Group LLC; as director of Fabtec Inc. and Lifeguard America LLC; and is an advisory director of Ward Petroleum Inc. He was an organizer and is a director of American Trustcorp (The Trust Co. of Oklahoma). The Tulsa Innovation Center was created by Brock to start new businesses in order to provide employment and enhance the economic environment for people in northeast Oklahoma.
1996
Archie W. Dunham, a native of Ada, received his B.S. in geological engineering from OU in 1960 and his M.B.A. from the College of Business Administration in 1966. Dunham served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1960 to 1964, reaching the rank of captain. After finishing his graduate work, Dunham joined Conoco Inc. in 1966 as an associate engineer. In January 1996, Dunham was named president and CEO of Conoco Inc. and an executive vice president of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., Conoco’s parent. In 2002, Dunham was named chairman of ConocoPhillips, following the merger of Conoco Inc. and Phillips Petroleum Co., until his retirement in 2004.
Donald R. Geis, a native of Loyal, earned his B.S. in mechanical engineering in 1960 and an M.S. in industrial engineering in 1968 from OU. Prior to enrolling, Geis served in the U.S. Air Force, where he served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, reaching the rank of technical sergeant. In 1960, he joined the Western Electric Co. in Oklahoma City as a planning engineer. Geis progressed through a series of assignments of increasing responsibility in Chicago; Columbus, Ohio; Vancouver, Wash.; Minneapolis; San Francisco; Newark and Kearney, N.J.; and New York City, culminating in his promotion to chief engineer at Western Electric’s corporate headquarters in 1981. Following divestuture, Geis retired in 1989 as sales vice president of AT&T Network Systems. Geis then served at the college for seven years as assistant dean for development.
H.E. “Gene” Rainbolt is a native of Norman. He received his B.B.A. in economics in 1951 and an M.B.A. in finance in 1957 from OU. He also is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Graduate School in banking. He served with distinction as an artillery officer in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, receiving the Bronze Medal and Army Commendation Medal. Upon his discharge from service, he began his career in banking that led to his position as chairman of BancFirst, the largest state-chartered bank in Oklahoma.
Charles C. Stephenson graduated from OU in 1959 with a B.S. in petroleum engineering. He served as an officer in the U.S. Army and has spent the past 50 years in the oil and gas industry. He began his career with Amerada Petroleum Corp. in 1960. Between 1973 and 1982, he was an owner and president of privately held Andover Oil Co. In 1983, he founded Vintage Petroleum Inc. as an independent energy company headquartered in Tulsa. He served as chairman of the board, president and CEO. The company was acquired by Occidental Petroleum in 2006. He currently is co-founder and chairman of the board of Premier Natural Resources, partner of Regent Private Capital and co-founder and director of Growth Capital Partners. He also is president of Stephenson Investments Inc. and serves on the board of directors of AAON, Inc.
John T. Stupka is president of Strategic and Tactical Support Inc., a consulting company serving the wireless telecommunication industry. Stupka also serves as chief of staff to Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T Mobility. Stupka has more than 35 years of wide-ranging experience in the wireless and wireline telecom sectors, and has successfully led projects in a variety of other categories, including fixed wireless and competitive local exchange. He launched his telecom career in 1974 with Southwestern Bell Telephone Co., leading to his appointment as division manager in 1979. Stupka entered the wireless arena in 1984 with his appointment as vice president - Network for the Southwest region of AMPS, the AT&T organization that preceded Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems. He then served as president and CEO. He earned his B.S. degree in industrial engineering from OU in 1971.
Lew O. Ward III is chairman of the board of Ward Petroleum Corp., located in Enid. The company operates primarily in Oklahoma, exploring the Anadarko and Arkoma basins. Over the years, he also formed and operated Ward Drilling Co., Rambler Well Service, Ward Gas Marketing, Geronimo Trucking, Caprock Supply and, with his son, Gale Force Compression Services. He received his B.S. in petroleum engineering from OU in 1953. He is also a graduate of the Owner/President Management Program at Harvard University. In 1999, he was honored to receive the Lone Star Steel Chief Roughneck Award for lifetime achievement in the oil and gas industry.