Montana Tech alum, Jerry Schuyler, and wife, Julie, recently completed a $500,000 gift to the university. This gift, Montana Tech’s largest single alumni gift to date, will be used to support scholarships and university projects.
Jerry is a 1977 Petroleum Engineering graduate from Roberts, Montana. He recently retired from a company he helped start in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is now serving as a board director of two oil and gas companies headquartered in Houston, Texas. Julie is originally from Anaconda, Montana. She graduated from Montana State University with a B.S. in Nursing. She also holds a master’s degree from The American College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine of the University of Texas.
“Montana Tech has been, and needs to remain, a significant resource for the energy industry in this country,” explained Jerry Schuyler. “As an example, Tech graduates about 10% of the petroleum engineers coming from U.S. colleges annually providing the much needed manpower for our growing oil and gas business. This is significant, and it is critical that Tech remain an integral partner for the future of the domestic energy industry. Montana Tech has a great reputation and is an incredible asset to the state of Montana!”
Jerry and his five siblings all graduated from Montana Tech. They recently recognized this unique accomplishment by honoring their parents with the Paul and Betty Schuyler Room within the Frank and Ann Gilmore University Relations Center on the campus of Montana Tech. “Our education and overall experience at Montana Tech provided us much of the foundation needed to enjoy productive and rewarding careers,” added Jerry. “For myself and Julie, my Montana Tech education and work experience led to great job opportunities in many different places around the world. For that, we are forever grateful.”
The donation by the Schuylers will establish engineering and nursing scholarships and will also contribute to future campus facilities. “In a small way, Julie and I want to pay back for what we have been able to experience from our Montana roots and help incoming students have the opportunity to prepare for similar careers which we feel are critical to the future.”
“Jerry and Julie are great examples of outstanding Montana citizens from ordinary upbringings who are armed with the highest work ethic and drive to make everything they touch better,” said Joe McClafferty, President of the Montana Tech Foundation. “Their extraordinary success is not by accident. Like many of our alumni, they are real-world problem solvers with high-level leadership skills. I thank Jerry and Julie for being trailblazers and inspiring Montana Tech to achieve higher levels of advancement.”
“Montana Tech is very fortunate to have Jerry and Julie in the Tech family,” added Montana Tech Chancellor Don Blackketter. “They have supported Tech for a long time and in many ways as advocates, recruiters, presenters, advisory board members, Foundation Board members and officers, and they have always been there to help out financially, too. Their generosity will make a positive impact in perpetuity and I am grateful for their gift.”
Jerry R. Schuyler has had a distinguished career in the oil and gas industry. He currently serves as a Board Director for two oil and gas companies in Houston, Texas: Rosetta Resources, Inc. and Gulf Coast Energy Resources, LLC. In 2013, Mr. Schuyler retired from Laredo Petroleum Holdings, Inc. in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he served as President, Chief Operating Officer and Director. He joined Laredo in 2007 when it was a start-up company with no assets and 10 employees. During his tenure, he was instrumental in helping them grow into a public company listed on the NYSE that employed approximately 350 people and had a total enterprise value of about $5 billion. Prior to joining Laredo, Mr. Schuyler was with St. Mary Land and Exploration Company from 2003 until 2007 and served as Senior Vice President and Regional Manager of the Gulf Coast and Permian regions. Before joining St. Mary Land and Exploration, he held the position of Senior Vice President and General Manager of onshore operations and exploration at Dominion Exploration & Production, Inc. from 2000 to 2002. Mr. Schuyler started his career at Atlantic Richfield Company in 1977, serving in numerous positions, some of the more notable being; Prudhoe Bay Field Manager, Manager of Worldwide Oil and Gas Planning and President of the Middle East and Central Asia. Mr. Schuyler holds a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from Montana Tech and attended numerous graduate business courses at the University of Houston.