Published January 29, 2025
By Christine Reed
A major gift from the Wold Foundation to the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources (SER) will enhance the educational opportunities for UW students and to support its long legacy of serving Wyoming’s oil and gas sector.
The $225,000 contribution is doubled by the state of Wyoming’s matching program to create the Wold Foundation Oil and Gas Student Success Fund.
The fund will provide graduate fellowships to students working with the SER Centers of Excellence and affiliated faculty on oil and gas projects. It will support scholarships, experiential learning opportunities and events, engagement activities with Wyoming high schools and community colleges, and student organizations.
“We are very excited to be working with the School of Energy Resources to support student success in a wide variety of areas,” says Peter Wold, member of the Wold Foundation Board of Directors. “The oil and gas industry is a staple in Wyoming and a very important part of the Wold family and Wold Foundation’s legacy. We are thrilled to see the commitment made at the university to foster the next generation in energy innovators and look forward to continued engagement.”
A longtime donor to the university, the Wold Foundation has generously supported every facet of energy-related research, education and outreach at UW. In 1990, it created the university’s first fully funded endowed academic chair — the John and Jane Wold Centennial Chair in Energy — as an opportunity for growing instruction in energy-related topics. The foundation also sponsors the biennial Wyoming’s Energy Future Symposium, hosted by SER, to promote stakeholder collaboration and discourse on energy topics across the state.
UW students have long benefited from the Wold Foundation at both the undergraduate and graduate level through scholarships in the College of Business; College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Life Sciences; and the Alumni Association. These students have gone on to achieve success in careers throughout Wyoming.
“The Wold Foundation has been an incredible partner to SER over the years, and the resources it has invested in our student and faculty success have been truly impactful,” SER Executive Director Holly Krutka says. “The Wold Foundation has been very hands-on in providing opportunities for students to do research and visit industry sites and to ensure that the academic opportunities abound in support of energy for the benefit of Wyoming.”
About the Wold Foundation
The Wold Foundation was created in 1985 by John and Jane Wold and the Wold family. Its purpose is to assist, encourage and promote charitable, scientific, literary and educational endeavors. The foundation supports institutions and programs that promote traditional values and free enterprise and gives a preference to projects benefiting Wyoming citizens and the state’s youth.
