Alumnus donates $4.6 million to geology department

The gift is the largest in the department's history.

By Katherine Miller

Published Nov. 13, 2008

Faculty members and students in the geology department will benefit from a $4.6 million gift announced last week.

MU graduate Robert "Bud" Weiser, who received his undergraduate geology degree in 1958 and master's in 1960, along with his wife, Sue, set up an endowment to support the department of geological sciences.

"Over the years, even today, when I see a picture of my old geology building, Swallow Hall, or the student union, I get an extra heartbeat due to my nostalgic feelings," Weiser said.

The department was thrilled when it first learned about the size of the donation, geology department chairman Kevin Shelton said.

"The scope of the gift is ginormous," Shelton said. "This is the largest gift in the history of our department. It's an example of how grateful our alumni are of the training they received here."

Weiser said his success in the oil industry allowed him to donate this amount of money.

After getting his master's and spending time in the Army, Weiser spent five years at his first job as a sales supervisor at Sinclair Oil. He later spent 26 years as a geologist, engineer and manager at ExxonMobil, traveling all over the world and becoming involved with many aspects of the oil industry.

In 1991, Weiser founded his own international engineering training and consulting business. Now living in North Carolina with his wife, Weiser has been retired since January 2005.

"To me, education was so important," Weiser said. "I felt like if I could set up an endowment for students, that's something that can live forever. It's a perpetual sort of a thing. It's not like a one-shot deal, like donating money for food, where after they use it, it's gone."

Of the $4.6 million, about 75 percent will directly benefit geology at MU. The remaining $1 million will be set aside for graduates of Wesier's high school, Hermann High School, to fund scholarships for students interested in attending MU for a variety of majors.

The $3.6 million going to the geology department will benefit students and faculty, with half going to students for scholarships, student research, field trips and other needs. The other half will support faculty through travel funding, symposia and research.

"It sounds like it's going to be a wonderful opportunity that's going to enhance resources for students in terms of research," assistant professor Paco Gomez said. "Faculty research always involves students, so it's all inter-related. I think it's really going to strengthen the curriculum here."

Students, too, said they were amazed at the generosity of this gift.

"It's really exciting that our department received something that prestigious," graduate student Sarah Stephenson said. "I think it can only open up more opportunities, to get more equipment and have more funding in our department."

The geology department consists of 15 faculty members, 50 undergraduates and 30 graduate students.

"The gift is likely to come in after my academic lifetime here," Shelton said. "Hopefully, Bud lives a long time and we don't see that money for a while, but knowing that you've got that kind of money solidified for the future, you can start planning on the sorts of things you can do."

Weiser said he hopes his donation has a large impact, not only at the university, but also on a broader scope.

"Today many students go into the environmental field, getting involved with global warming and alternative energy, as well as going into the petroleum, mining and teaching fields," Weiser said. "Whatever I do for students or professors, or even post-grads, I'm doing something, hopefully for the good, not only for the individual, but also, literally for the world for time immemorial."