Murphy Oil pledges $50 million to put students through college

EL DORADO, Arkansas: In one of the most generous programs of its kind anywhere in the United States, an oil company announced Monday it is putting up $50 million (€38.6 million) for college scholarships for nearly all high school graduates in its working-class hometown over the next 20 years.

Arkansas has the second-lowest percentage of college graduates in the United States.

"This is a huge day. As of today, El Dorado High School graduates will have an unprecedented opportunity to continue their education," Superintendent Bob Watson said in remarks prepared for a speech Monday. "For some students, this is life-changing."

Murphy Oil, based in El Dorado, last year was ranked 193rd on the Fortune magazine list of the nation's largest companies, with revenue of $11.9 billion (€9.2 billion).

About 20,500 people live in El Dorado, many working in either the oil and gas industry or in timber operations. Three-fourths of residents have high school diplomas, but less than 15 percent have college degrees.
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"We are committed to making El Dorado a great place to live and work," said Claiborne Deming, Murphy Oil's president and chief executive officer.

The company will put up $5 million (€3.8 million) a year for 10 years to fund the program, which is expected to take 20 years to complete. El Dorado graduates about 250 students each year, and about 65 percent attend a two- or four-year college.

A similar scholarship program attracted national attention in late 2005, when an anonymous group of donors in Michigan offered scholarships for at least 13 years to nearly all of the city of Kalamazoo's high school graduates.

But that program was only for public universities in Michigan, while the new program by Murphy Oil Corp. will give scholarships toward out-of-state schools as well.

Scholarships will not exceed the highest resident tuition rate at an Arkansas public university. As of this semester, that amount was $6,010 (€4,646) a year.

The program begins with this spring's graduating class. El Dorado High School has about 250 graduates each year.

U.S. census figures show Arkansas has the second-lowest percentage of college graduates in the nation — 16.7 percent, ahead of West Virginia's 14.4 percent.