Hollis M. Dole Professor in Geosciences

December 31, 2009

The Hollis M. Dole Professorship in Geosciences provides support for faculty research in environmental geology. It honors the distinguished OSU alumnus whose career included appointments as Oregon State Geologist and as Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Mineral Resources. Hollis Dole was instrumental in writing the rules and regulations for offshore drilling for oil and gas in the coastal areas of Oregon before other states had such regulations. He was also a top executive in oil shale production with Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), and later served as an adjunct professor in geology at Oregon State from 1980 to 1987. Dole earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from OSU in 1940 and 1942.

Many donors contributed to the endowment in Dole's memory shortly after his death in 1987. In 2009 the fund received a $100,000 contribution from ConocoPhillips Corporation at the request of OSU president emeritus John V. Byrne. Byrne had served on the board of Burlington Resources years before, and the CEO at the time created a program by which retired board members could direct, upon their death, a $1 million contribution to a college or university of their choice. After the company became part of ConocoPhillips, retired board members were given the option of directing a lesser amount to an institute of higher education while they were still living. Byrne and his wife, Shirley, selected this option and directed part of the gift to the Dole Professorship.

John Byrne was the first dean of OSU's School of Oceanography and later became head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He served as OSU's 12th president from 1984 through 1995.