Rawls College Adds Energy Commerce as Area of Study

The energy commerce program at Texas Tech just got a promotion. The program, housed in the Rawls College of Business, is now an official area of study, the Area of Energy Commerce.

“The Rawls energy commerce (EC) program is considered, by industry and universities alike, to be the premier program in the country,” said Debbie Laverie, senior associate dean.

The bump from program to area reflects the fact that the complexity of the industry has expanded far beyond the petroleum land management focus of previous years, said Terry McInturff, area coordinator.

“While oil and gas operations still are our backbone and many of our graduates do become in-house landmen, we are also educating students to enter the industry as energy lenders, gas marketers, commodity traders, energy accountants and alternative energy consultants – the list of opportunities is virtually endless,” McInturff said.

Due to the close proximity of Texas Tech to the Permian Basin and the number of students attending the university from families employed in the energy industry, it is vital, he said, that the Rawls College of Business continues to be a leader in the area.

“As the only such program in the state of Texas, our EC program has a unique niche which draws companies such as Chevron, Conoco-Phillips, Exxon and others to recruit at Texas Tech for EC, as well as non-EC majors,” McInturff said. “Further cooperation between the Area of Energy Commerce and our Career Management Center will be fruitful for the program and the college.”

According to Laverie, the designation shows a commitment to the program by the college to grow it with tenure-track faculty with an increased emphasis on research.

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