Jerry Schuyler to receive Chancellor's Award of Distinction

Energy executive, alumnus, and longtime University supporter Jerry Schuyler will receive Montana Technological University's Chancellor's Award of Distinction on Friday, Oct. 4,2024 during Homecoming festivities.

The award, established in 2021, recognizes individuals who have achieved the most distinguished personal and professional accomplishments while also serving and bringing distinction to Montana Tech.

“I was very surprised to receive this award,” Schuyler said. “It is a great honor to be named, and a very generous compliment.”

Jerry Schuyler, from Roberts, MT received his bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering from the Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology in 1977, and completed several graduate courses later in his career. After graduation, he was hired by Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska and stayed with the company for 22 years. At ARCO, he rose through the ranks to become Prudhoe Bay field manager, manager of Worldwide Exploration and Production Planning, and president of ARCO Middle East and Central Asia.

After leaving ARCO, Mr. Schuyler held various executive officer positions with St. Mary Land & Exploration and Dominion Exploration and Production. While at St. Mary Land & Exploration, he established their offices in Houston and Midland and was responsible for all exploration and production activities in the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf Coast and Permian areas. In his tenure at Dominion Exploration and Production, he managed all company operations in the Gulf Coast, Michigan, and Appalachian areas.   

He then went on to join a private start-up oil and gas company, Laredo Petroleum, Inc. in Tulsa, Oklahoma 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 into a publicly traded company with a total enterprise value of $5 billion.  

Schuyler was elected as an independent board director to Gastar Exploration, Ltd. (GST) in 2014. He was the chief executive officer and chairman of the board when the company was sold in 2019. Schuyler was also an independent director of Penn Virginia Corporation (PVAC), Yates Petroleum Corporation, Rosetta Resources, Inc. (ROSE), and privately held Gulf Coast Energy Resources, LLC.

 “It is our great honor to celebrate Jerry Schuyler’s 40-plus year career in the oil and gas industry, where he has made a name for himself and emboldened the reputation of Montana Tech,” Chancellor Les Cook said. “From working for ARCO in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to the leadership on so many industry boards and successful companies, Jerry has enjoyed the kind of career Montana Tech students dream of. With a petroleum engineering degree and a tremendous work ethic, Jerry has earned a distinct and well-deserved reputation as a highly respected leader in the oil and gas industry and Montana Tech is incredibly proud of everything Jerry has accomplished.”

Chancellor Cook also highlighted Schuyler’s commitment to Montana Tech.

“All the while, Jerry and his wife Julie have been faithful and passionate supporters of Montana Tech and we couldn’t be more thankful,” Cook said. “Their support has impacted this campus dramatically, allowing our students to have the best possible experience in pursuit of incredible careers. Their commitment to the education of our students through support of scholarships and new building projects and their dedicated service on the Petroleum Engineering Advisory Board and the Montana Tech Foundation Board has not only helped transform the campus but will have a lifelong impact.”

Schuyler’s commitment to the University started early, a byproduct of his parents’ teachings to utilize talents and resources not just for one’s personal betterment, but also for the greater good of society. Schuyler’s parents raised six children on their ranch, and all six graduated from Montana Tech with engineering degrees. As president of ASMT, Schuyler worked to get student support to approve the fee increase and funding required for the Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (HPER) Complex, which had been voted down several times in previous years. He and the other ASMT officers also successfully lobbied the faculty and administration to move Montana Tech onto the early semester system, which is still used today.

Schuyler’s commitments grew after graduation. In addition to leading a highly successful career, he and Julie raised three children as they moved all over the world. Julie, a native of Anaconda, was a nurse who engaged herself in community projects like organizing the sports programs for the kids in kindergarten through 6th grade in the American School in Dubai where they were living. When they left Dubai, the school hired two full-time employees to maintain the programs Julie had created and managed as a volunteer. Still the Schuyler family always found time for Montana Tech.

Schuyler was a founding member of the Petroleum Engineering Department’s Industrial Advisory Board, which connects industry leaders with university faculty and helps give support and direction to the department for the future.

Schuyler received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Montana Tech Foundation in 2004. He served on the Montana Tech Foundation Board for many years and has served as chairman of the Board. He was also elected to the Montana Tech Chancellor’s Leadership Council. Through his work with these groups he formed close relationships with former Chancellors Don Blackketter and the late W. Franklin “Frank” Gilmore. He says two of his greatest honors, prior to this award, were being asked by Ann Gilmore to speak at Dr. Gilmore’s memorial service. and being asked by Dr. Blackketter to give the commencement address to the graduating class of 2016.

Julie and Jerry have been dependable supporters of many of the building projects completed on campus in the last couple of decades. Schuyler is most proud of the Tom and Mary Dyk Welcoming Center. Thomas Dyk (Petroleum Engineering ’76) was a classmate, a good friend, a successful and respected oilman and a longtime University supporter that had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Working with a colleague of Tom’s and Chancellor Blackketter, they raised over $1 million from industry colleagues and fellow alumni within about a month and got approval to name the welcoming center for Tom and Mary. The highlight of this effort was being able to celebrate this gift with Tom before he passed.   

The Schuylers were also one of the first stops of Highlands College Dean Karen VanDaveer when she started building the nursing program’s simulation technology infrastructure in 2012. The Schuylers gave Montana Tech seed money to explore simulation center options. The project continued to build momentum and eventually landed the largest private contribution ever given to Montana Tech at the time. Dave and Sherry Lesar gave a historic $7 million gift to fund the Lesar Family Nursing Simulation Center.

“We now augment every portion of the curriculum with simulation,” VanDaveer said. “Jerry has Montana Tech and our students in his best interests. He loves Montana Tech, he truly values the education he received and the opportunities it afforded him and his family. He has it engrained in him to give back to the institution and to help students.”

Having individuals like Schuyler who support the University is critical to its success.

“We could not do what we’ve done with the Sherry Lesar School of Nursing without the support of our alumni, friends, community, and our students,” VanDaveer said. “It’s one thing to have an idea, but it’s another thing to bring it to fruition, and when somebody believes in you, it just makes it that much easier. Jerry and Julie believed in nursing. The Schuylers helped us open doors. Jerry is a nice, genuine friend, and Montana Tech donor. His heart is as big as Montana and I’m so lucky to call him my friend.”

Chancellor Cook invites all Orediggers to join him in honoring Schuyler’s contributions to the University.

“Jerry’s accomplished career, philanthropy, commitment, and love of Montana Tech are very much a point of pride for Orediggers everywhere,” Cook said. “It is our honor to recognize his many contributions by way of this award.”