Jerry Schuyler to Deliver Montana Tech Commencement Address

Jerry Schuyler will be Montana Tech’s commencement speaker at the 116th ceremony on Saturday, May 14. Schuyler’s speech is titled Seven Practical Lessons to Career Management. The university is expecting to award 596 degrees and certificates to 567 students.

“I am pleased that Jerry has accepted our invitation to be our commencement speaker,” noted Montana Tech Chancellor Don Blackketter. “Jerry has had a very successful career and will deliver a strong and inspiring message. Jerry and his wife Julie have been great ambassadors for Montana Tech and we are pleased they will join us for commencement weekend and help make this a special event for all our graduates and their families.”

Jerry R. Schuyler is Chairman of the Board of publicly traded Gastar Exploration, Ltd. (GST) based in Houston, Texas. He was elected to the board in August, 2014. Mr. Schuyler is also an independent Director of Yates Petroleum Corporation based in Artesia, New Mexico.

In addition to the two current Boards of Directors, Mr. Schuyler served as Independent Director for publicly traded Rosetta Resources, Inc. (ROSE) from December, 2013 until the Company was sold in 2015. He also served as Independent Director for Gulf Coast Energy Resources, LLC. from 2010 until the sale of the Company in April, 2015.

Prior to his board assignments, Mr. Schuyler joined a private start-up oil and gas company, Laredo Petroleum, Inc. in Tulsa, Oklahoma as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Board Director in 2007. He was promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer in 2008. He retired in 2013. During Mr. Schuyler’s tenure, Laredo grew from a private equity financed start-up company with no assets into a publicly traded company listed on the NYSE with a total enterprise value of about $5 billion.

Prior to joining Laredo, Jerry was Executive Vice President responsible for domestic exploration and production with St. Mary Land & Exploration Company, from 2003 – 2007, and Dominion Exploration and Production, from 2000 - 2002. Earlier in his career of 22 years with ARCO, he held a variety of positions, including Prudhoe Bay Field Manager, Manager of Worldwide Exploration and Production Planning and President of ARCO Middle East and Central Asia. Mr. Schuyler holds a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from Montana Tech (77) and attended several business courses at University of Houston.

In addition to his oil and gas career involvement, Mr. Schuyler has been an active supporter of Montana Tech. He is a founding member of the Petroleum Engineering Industrial Advisory Board and has served as Chairman. He was elected as a Distinguished Alumni in 2004. He has served on the Montana Tech Foundation for many years and has served as Chairman of the Montana Tech Foundation Board. Most recently, he was elected to the Montana Tech Chancellor’s Leadership Council.