The Craft and Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering Campaign

Endowment Opportunities

LSU has maintained a strong nationally recognized program of petroleum engineering. The Craft and Hawkins Endowment Fund will provide long-term financial stability to the program. After studying the needs of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff, the department has compiled a list of its most pressing priorities.

* Endowed Scholarships in Petroleum Engineering

Endowed scholarships that assist students with tuition supplements, books, and room and board are effective means to recruit and retain good graduate and undergraduate students. Our goal is to establish 40 scholarship endowments at a level of $50,000 each. The annual award from each endowment is $2,500. Donors who create scholarship endowments may name the scholarship, which becomes an enduring form of recognition. Every scholarship award made to students from the fund will be made in that name. Scholarships may be awarded on the basis of academic merit, financial need, or a combination of both. Eligibility criteria might include the academic rank, residence, or other appropriate qualifications.

* Endowed Chairs in Petroleum Engineering

As Benjamin C. Craft and Murray F. Hawkins demonstrated, nothing defines an academic department more clearly than the quality of its faculty. The creation of endowed chairs in petroleum engineering will enhance LSU’s future ability to attract and retain well-qualified faculty members who will ensure continuity. Our goal is to create two chairs named after Benjamin C. Craft and Murray F. Hawkins. Each chair is to be funded by an endowment of $2 million. The net spendable earnings from each endowment will be approximately $100,000 annually. The Louisiana Board of Regents’ Support Fund offers matching funds for private gifts for faculty support. To qualify for BRSF matching funds, the private contributions must total $1,200,000, which may qualify for $800,000 in matching funds, bringing the total to the targeted $2 million level. Contributions to this endowment are accepted in increments of $10,000.

* Undergraduate Laboratory Renovation and Maintenance Funds
The Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology requires that the department has well-equipped laboratories and has in place a physical and financial renovation and maintenance plan. To ensure compliance with these criteria in the future, a $250,000 endowed fund for each of the following laboratories will be established:

Contributions with naming opportunities to each of these funds will be accepted in increments of $25,000.

*Unrestricted Endowment

In the rapidly changing educational environment, the department needs resources for future planned and unforeseen opportunities. Any size contribution can be made to this fund.

Contributions to any of the above endowments may be made in one lump sum or on an annual installment basis. All donors will be recognized by name on a plaque displayed in the department facility.

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