Altman expands scholarship to evolve with industry

Ronny and Judy Altman

Ronny Altman of Tulsa, Okla., saw firsthand what success looked like growing up in the “oil capital of the world.” Today, he is president and CEO of Altman Energy Inc. and credits the University of Oklahoma and its Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy for helping him to navigate that path.

Altman was ultimately influenced by his father, an independent oil and gas producer.

He earned a 1965 OU petroleum engineering degree and went to work for Union Oil Co. in California until joining his father in Tulsa five years later.

While at OU, Altman learned the value of financial aid after obtaining a two-year petroleum engineering scholarship. “Receiving that scholarship was very important to me,” he said. “And I knew that one day I wanted to pay it back by financing a scholarship myself.”

That day came in 2000 when he established the Ronny G. Altman Petroleum Engineering Scholarship Fund with a generous gift to the OU Foundation endowing a scholarship to recruit, retain and graduate exceptional third-year students pursuing an undergraduate degree. The fund was revised in 2021 to expand its impact on graduate students. To date, nearly 70 students have received the Altman scholarship.

“As the industry evolves and changes, needs also change,” he said, adding that there weren’t many scholarships available to graduate students at the time his fund was established.

“Over the past 20 to 30 years, things have really changed within our industry. Fossil fuels are not as popular as they once were, and young people are thinking, ‘Why would I want to have a professional career in fossil fuels when it’s evolving and transitioning?’

“What students might not realize is that there will still be the need for fossil fuels.”

Altman and his wife, Judy, have contributed continuously to the OU Foundation and are supporting numerous funds, including those benefiting the Center for Studies in Democracy and Culture at OU-Tulsa.

“We hope the support we have provided to OU students has impacted the next generation of energy professionals and entrepreneurs,” said Altman.