Published: December 07, 2007 09:13 am      

First ECU Chesapeake Cartography scholarship winners named

Seven outstanding students at East Central University in Ada have been named the first recipients of the newly established Chesapeake Cartography Scholarships. Dr. Gregory Plumb, chair of the Department of Cartography and Geography, announced the awards which range from $1,000 to $1,500.

The scholars for the 2007-08 academic year are Jacob Lempges, a freshman from McLoud; Adam Milligan, a senior from Ponca City; Daniel Eli Pope, a freshman from Ada; Chloe Price, a senior from Ardmore; Robert Rothell, a junior from Roff; Stefan Terrell, a freshman from Norman; and Carl Williams, a freshman from Oklahoma City.

Funded by Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corporation, the nation’s most-active driller of natural gas wells, the scholarship program rewards some of the brightest students majoring in cartography at ECU, Plumb said.

“Chesapeake is among the growing number of companies and governmental organizations within Oklahoma which recognize the high value of geotechniques, a term that collectively includes the geographically inspired disciplines of cartography (map-making), geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing and global positioning systems (GPS),” Plumb said.

Wade Brawley, Chesapeake’s vice president of land administration, said, “The energy industry is dependent upon the skills of outstanding cartographers and we at Chesapeake are pleased to support this highly sought talent. We have recruited some outstanding GIS analysts from ECU and we are particularly pleased that this valuable resource pool is in our own backyard.”

ECU is the only university in Oklahoma, and one of only seven in the United States, that offers an undergraduate degree in cartography.

Over the next four years, Chesapeake has committed an additional $40,000 in scholarships for incoming and current cartography majors at ECU. Scholarship guidelines can be found at www.ecok.edu/cartogeo/chesapeake.htm and an application for prospective students wishing to enroll at ECU can be accessed from https://www.ecok.edu/scripts/enroll/apply.htm.