THIBODAUX — A $4,000 donation from the Morgan City Oilfield Fishing Rodeo will benefit one of Nicholls State University’s fastest-growing degree programs.
The funds will help to develop the university’s Department of Petroleum Engineering Technology and Safety Management degree programs.
The department is one of the fastest-growing on campus, with 160 new students enrolled for the fall semester and nearly 400 students enrolled overall.
“We have thousands of graduates working in the oil and gas industry across the globe,” said Executive Director Michael Gautreaux. “We pride ourselves in providing higher education opportunities for nontraditional students working in the industry.”
Founded in 1973, the program is celebrating its 40th year at Nicholls.
Focused on professional workforce development, the department is geared towards meeting the needs of the expanding deepwater oil and gas industry in southeast Louisiana and offers the only known programs designed to accommodate the unique schedule of its workers.
Courses are scheduled around the typical 7-days-on, 7-days-off or 14-days-on, 14-days-off working life of an offshore employee. Graduates are often elevated to management positions in safety, drilling and production operations, or they are employed in the service and supply side of the oil and gas industry.
“The program provides a true benefit to the oil and gas industry,” said Joey Cannata, a representative of the Morgan City Oilfield Fishing Rodeo. “Our goal was to generate camaraderie and continue to support these kinds of programs that create progress in our industry.”
For more information, visit the Department of Petroleum Engineer Technology and Safety Management’s website at www.nicholls.edu/petsm or contact Gautreaux at michael.gautreaux@www.nicholls.edu.
CUTLINE: (From left) Leslie Melancon and Joey Cannata, representatives of the Morgan City Oilfield Fishing Rodeo, present a $4,000 donation to Michael Gautreaux, executive director of the Department of Petroleum Engineering Technology and Safety Management Program at Nicholls State University, and Al Davis, dean of University College at Nicholls.
