Home to the nation’s first commercial oil well and a series of important early advancements in petroleum engineering, Oklahoma has been a destination for the energy industry since the very beginning. One of the earliest academic players in the energy industry, the University of Oklahoma’s influence on the industry is immeasurable.
In 1919, Oklahoma had been a state for only 12 short years when Leon Everette English walked across the stage at the University of Oklahoma commencement and made history as the first person in the United States to earn a degree in geological engineering. In the same year, the University expanded its energy curriculum to include courses in petroleum technology. The School of Petroleum Engineering was founded in 1924, and the two schools later merged to become the School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering.
These early students seized their opportunity to make a mark in energy. They were the wildcatters, the trailblazers, the shoulders we still stand on today. The graduates of our school share a proud tradition and heritage. They have led multi-national corporations and founded hundreds of successful independent companies.
In 2000, the historic and celebrated school was renamed the Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering to honor industry leader and celebrated alumnus Curtis W. Mewbourne of Tyler, Texas. His passion for the energy industry, the University of Oklahoma and the students of the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy ensure that the legacy started 100 years ago will continue.
The Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering is home to research, scholarship and people that shaped a century. The school’s influence and contributions to the industry began on the windy plains of Oklahoma and the dusty horizons of West Texas. Now an international destination for future petroleum engineers from all nationalities and walks of life, the Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering’s influence extends across the country and around the world.
The legacy of the last century lives on in us, the bearers of the next one hundred years of unlimited energy at the University of Oklahoma.
LEON EVERETTE ENGLISH
