Energy Institute: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

The Energy Institute at Price College was established in 2010 as a community of practitioners and academics who advance innovative and sustainable solutions to the critical energy challenges facing our nation and, more broadly, the global community. Since its inception, the Institute carries out its mission of advancing education, research and outreach under the leadership of Professor Dipankar Ghosh, who serves as the Institute’s executive director and holds the David Ross Boyd Professorship and David C. Steed Chair in Accounting.

“The Energy Institute was formed to bring together great thinkers from the energy sector as well as from academia who provide insights and judgments on topics which are consequential to our economic growth and prosperity,” Ghosh said.

Cathy Lebsack graduated with an EMBA in Energy degree in 2017 and serves as vice president of Land & Regulatory at Devon Energy. “My cohort was full of very intelligent, confident and empowering people,” she said. “This cohort and the program challenged me to think more broadly and dig into the program, which ultimately increased my confidence at work.”

In addition to its degree programs, the Energy Institute offers week-long certificate programs for companies, organizations and individuals. The five-day Energy Executive Management Program caters to professionals with a technical background in energy who are looking to advance their careers by acquiring energy-specific business acumen. The Institute also hosts bespoke programs for corporations based on the organization’s needs. For example, the South Korean company SK E&S, which began in 1999 as a holding company for its city gas business, has quickly expanded overseas to include liquid natural gas (LNG), electricity and new and renewable energy sources. To keep up with the ever-changing industry of LNG, the company sought the resources and expertise of Price’s Energy Institute to develop a 10-day program on the business of natural gas in North America that brought 25 of the company’s employees and their global partners to Oklahoma City and Norman to learn directly from the Institute’s faculty and adjuncts.

The third pillar of the Energy Institute is outreach, which allows the people, educational programs and research efforts of the Institute to physically coalesce and advance the energy industry. There’s no better example of the Institute’s outreach efforts than the annual Energy Symposium. Since 2013, the symposium has brought nearly 70 global thought leaders to the Oklahoma stage to address strategically procured topics that lend to forward-thinking discussions and ideas on the current issues facing the energy industry today, and ways to strengthen the market and provide greater opportunities for the future. As a university-hosted event, the symposium provides an unbiased platform for professionals and scholars alike to carry out honest and meaningful dialogue about these pressing energy issues.

Ghosh said the 2019 symposium, held April 25, focused on energy disruptions.

“This year’s symposium is both timely and visionary given the significant energy disruptions we are experiencing,” said Ghosh. “There is a convergence of forces influencing the industry, such as different forms of energy, rapid technological advancements and changing consumer preferences to reduce environmental impact. Global energy demand will keep on increasing, and as energy companies plan for their future, understanding the confluence of these forces will facilitate their strategies to ensure long-term economic growth.”