Petroleum engineer funds scholarship through estate

When Ken Thompson transferred to Missouri University of Science and Technology in the early 1970s, there were few scholarships available for transfer students. Grateful for his bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering that led to a highly successful career, Ken and his wife, Pat, recently revised their estate plan to provide additional funding for an endowed scholarship he created in 2001.

The James Kenneth Thompson Endowed Scholarship helps transfer students seeking bachelor of science or graduate degrees in petroleum engineering. “I have a desire to help young men and women who, for various reasons, wish to stay close to home for a year or two and then transfer,” Ken wrote in an explanatory letter to S&T.

After graduating summa cum laude in 1973 from what was then called UMR (University of Missouri-Rolla), Thompson went on to a distinguished career in petroleum engineering, working for ARCO for more than 25 years. He now owns an oil and gas investment company in Anchorage, Alaska, and serves on several corporate boards, including Alaska Airlines, Pioneer Natural Resources, TetraTech, and Coeur Mining. Missouri S&T awarded him an honorary professional degree in 1990.

Thompson, who gives annually to the alumni fund and to the petroleum engineering phonathon, wrote that he and his wife, Pat, decided to “make a legacy gift that can make a difference for young students in the future.”

Missouri University of Science and Technology is making a big difference in the lives of so many,” he wrote in his letter. “UMR certainly put me on the path to success, and I thank God for that.”