The oil and gas industry may encompass the globe, but its engineers are a close group who honor their own. Nowhere is that loyalty more evident than at Texas A&M University where petroleum engineers from the Class of 1975 have established a permanent tribute in memory of classmate Charles A. Rohan.

Rohan was a retired Chevron engineer who lived in Richmond, Texas, at the time of his death in 2006.

“Charles Rohan personified the high ideals of what it means to say, ‘I am an Aggie petroleum engineer.’ His name will live on forever through this scholarship, which will help us prepare other fine young people for careers in the profession he loved so much,” said Dr. Stephen A. Holditch, petroleum engineering department head and holder of the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation Endowed Chair.

A $275,000 endowment at the Texas A&M Foundation will create the Charles A. Rohan Memorial Scholarship in Petroleum Engineering. When fully funded, the scholarship will be awarded annually to four or more students with a minimum grade point ratio of 3.5 in their department coursework and an overall minimum 3.0 GPR. Preference will be given to juniors and seniors who demonstrate leadership quality, financial need and involvement in oil and gas related extracurricular activities.

Trent B. Latshaw is the class representative coordinating activities and contributions associated with the scholarship. Lead gifts by Latshaw, Terry W. Rathert and Ted H. Smith helped start the Class of 1975 gift.

“This group of men truly embodies the Aggie Spirit. The honoring of their classmate and the demonstrated passion to give back to Texas A&M are evident with this tremendous scholarship in petroleum engineering,” said Brady Bullard, director of development for petroleum engineering with the Texas A&M Foundation.

Rohan and his wife, Toni, were high school sweethearts in Richmond. They moved to Mississippi where Charles enrolled in a university with a co-operative work program of keen interest to him.

“But Charles’ heart belonged to Texas A&M,” Toni said. “One day he saw an Aggie bumper sticker in Starkville, Mississippi, came home and told me, ‘We’re heading home — I’m going to Texas A&M.’ We saved our money for a year and then moved to College Station.”

At Texas A&M Rohan briefly pursued a kinesiology degree with the intention to coach high school football. After one year he changed to petroleum engineering.

“He was going to change to mechanical engineering, and I told him the day before enrollment that I was glad that he hadn’t chosen petroleum engineering because it looked too hard — and it was like Charles to take a challenge,” Toni said.

She went on to serve as president of the Petroleum Engineering Wives Club as her husband became increasingly active in the Petroleum Engineers Club. After an internship with Getty Oil, he joined the company’s office at Conroe, Texas, after graduation.

Rohan advanced to area engineer for Getty Oil Onshore in Lafayette, La. For a decade he was Getty Oil’s recruiter at Texas A&M job fairs. He was a sponsor for Dr. Robert Shivers during his dissertation work and helped provide expertise, field knowledge and insights into petroleum engineering fundamentals. Rohan stayed with the company through its merger with Texaco and Texaco’s subsequent merger with Chevron.

For many years he was a member of Texaco’s first response team for the United States. After retiring from Chevron in 2002 after a 29-year career, he became an independent consultant.

“Charles spent his life dedicated to his family and the career he was passionate about — drilling for oil. Together we instilled a love for education in our four children, who in turn have dedicated their lives to educating young minds. Our family is touched and honored by this scholarship, which will further Charles’ dream: providing assistance to young men and women who otherwise may miss out on their education and dreams because of financial difficulties,” Toni said.

Their son Thomas graduated from the University of Texas Pan American where he received a full baseball scholarship. Christi is Texas A&M Class of 1998; Charles Jr., Class of 2000; and Juli, Class of 2004.

Charles and Toni also passed a love of Texas A&M traditions to their grandchildren. Toni predicts nine future Aggies in the family at current count.

Friends and family of Rohan are invited to contribute to the scholarship. Donations may be mailed to the Texas A&M Foundation, 401 George Bush Drive, College Station, Texas 77801with “Rohan scholarship” on the memo line.

Written by Exa York

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