Texas A&M petroleum engineering scholarship honors Sterling Lacy

Texas A&M petroleum engineering scholarship honors Sterling Lacy

Carolyn and David B. Miller of Dallas have endowed a $120,000 gift to create a petroleum engineering scholarship at Texas A&M University in honor of her father.

Sterling S. Lacy '46

The Sterling S. Lacy Jr. ‘46 Scholarship, funded through the Texas A&M Foundation, is part of the Von Gonten Scholars Program. W.D. “Doug” Von Gonten was an influential department head whose years of service resulted in the unprecedented growth of petroleum engineering at Texas A&M.

“Our graduates are in high demand, and we have a surging undergraduate enrollment. Scholarships allow our department to recruit and retain the talented students we need to produce qualified engineers for the oil and gas industry,” said Stephen A. Holditch, petroleum engineering department head and holder of the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation Endowed Chair.

Scholars in the Von Gonten program must maintain cumulative and semester grade point ratios of 3.0 and be enrolled in at least 14 semester credit hours counting toward a petroleum engineering degree.

“We wanted to honor my dad because helping others achieve higher education has always been one of his top priorities in life. He has consistently provided strong encouragement both in spirit and financially to ensure that his daughters, grandsons and others could pursue their education goals. His degree from Texas A&M is a source of great pride to him. Therefore, we want to continue his example by endowing this scholarship for future petroleum engineers at Texas A&M,” Carolyn Miller said.

Sterling Lacy retired from ENSTAR Petroleum Inc. in 1984 and began a second career as a consulting petroleum engineer specializing in evaluations.

“I consider this endowment to be the highest honor I have ever received, made especially meaningful by the loving generosity of my daughter and son-in-law. I am humbled to know that deserving students will be aided in their pursuit of higher education at Texas A&M because of this scholarship. I have been grateful throughout my career for the knowledge and training I received at an institution widely known for its exceptional petroleum engineering program,” Lacy said.

A native of El Dorado, Arkansas, he enrolled in petroleum engineering at Texas A&M in 1942. Army specialized training took him to Oregon State College for studies in mechanical engineering and then back to College Station, where he graduated in 1947 with a B.S. in petroleum engineering.

The summer before his senior year, Lacy signed on as a roughneck with McAlester Fuel Co., joining the firm full-time after graduation. He advanced to field engineer and project engineer before interrupting his career to serve in the Korean War as a first lieutenant in the 781st Engineer Pipeline Company. In 1952 he returned to McAlester as district engineer and rose through the ranks to chief engineer, assistant production superintendent and assistant production manager.

Three decades after leaving Texas A&M, Lacy headed back to the classroom. He completed 12 hours in computer science at Southern Arkansas University while designing and overseeing implementation of McAlester’s new databases for oil and gas reserves, economic evaluations and geological mapping. During the 1983-84 transition from McAlester Fuel Co. to ENSTAR Petroleum, he trained new personnel and continued to design, program and oversee key databases for the changing organization.

Lacy is a registered professional engineer in Texas and a chapter director of the Society of Petroleum Engineers AIME. He is a past president of the Southwest Chapter of Arkansas Society of Professional Engineers, and a past chairman of the Louisiana-Arkansas Division Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association Pollution Control Committee.

For almost a quarter-century he served as chairman of the board of the Magnolia (Arkansas) Municipal Water System, receiving mayoral acclaim for his distinguished service.

Lacy and his wife Loice are avid birders, and he is a two-time past president of the Arkansas Audubon Society. The couple has remained connected to Texas A&M through alumni events like the Sul Ross reunion and Aggie Hostel. He is a 19-year member of the Association of Former Students Century Club.

“The Millers have shown a true love for Mr. Lacy and recognize his passion for Texas A&M. This scholarship will provide students a great opportunity to become Aggie petroleum engineers,” said Brady Bullard, director of development for engineering with the Texas A&M Foundation.

The Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M ranks first in undergraduate programs and second in graduate programs among public universities in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report.

By Betsy Ellison
betsyellison@tees.tamus.edu