A $750,000 grant from one of the world’s largest energy companies, BP America, will help the University of Houston recruit and offer scholarships to students in engineering, sciences, mathematics and business.
Spread out across three years, the BP Scholarship/Fellowship will be distributed to the Cullen College of Engineering, the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and the C.T. Bauer College of Business to fund a variety of programs that are already in place aimed at recruiting students. Some programs the grant will fund include one-week summer camps to promote engineering to high school seniors, scholarships to attract National Merit Scholarship finalists and a program to encourage high school students and business students to specialize in the energy sector.
“We have a social responsibility to continue to find better ways to develop safe, clean and sustainable energy for the future,” said Gabriel Cuadra, business unit leader for Latin America Fuels, BP’s UH campus executive and a 1988 UH alum. “In order to do that, we must continue to attract and recruit the best and the brightest young people who will help develop the technologies that will unlock previously unattainable hydrocarbon resources and help us deliver alternative energy solutions.”
Each year for the next three years, the Cullen College of Engineering will receive $170,000 each year, the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics will receive $55,000 each year and the C.T. Bauer College of Business will receive $25,000 each year.
“BP is making a significant investment in university programs aimed at developing the regional workforce through the recruitment and retention of excellent students,” said Donald Foss, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost for UH. “This gift reflects the quality of the energy-related programs at UH and we are grateful to BP for their continued support of these efforts.”
UH is an attractive recruiting base for BP due to the talent and diversity of its student body and the effectiveness of recruiting programs already in place by the university. The large number of BP facilities in the Houston area, and the large BP population already living in Houston, gives UH students access to a major industry employer through informal and formal mentorship opportunities.
BP currently recruits between 20 and 30 students a year for full-time and internship positions, and has had a prominent presence on the UH campus for more than 30 years, including sponsoring scholarship opportunities, such as 20th Annual ASME/UH Cajun Crawfish Boil on May 4.
NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: A photo of the check presentation is available on the Web at http://www.uh.edu/news-events/archive/nr/2008/04april/bp-uhengr-scholarshipph.html. A high-resolution photo is available by contacting Ann Holdsworth.
About the University of Houston
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