Alumni paying it forward

How can the oil and gas industry continue to improve its sustainability practices? How do we stop working in silos to solve sustainability challenges? How do we as a society better protect our water resources?

If you’ve asked yourselves questions like these, you’re not alone. So too have husband and wife alumni Jon and Heather Fennell. They’re hoping that the people who can answer those questions will be University of Calgary students.

The Fennells have created the new Fennell Sustainability Graduate Scholarship through an endowment that provides $5,000 annually for full-time master’s level students in the Sustainable Energy Development (SEDV) program — a multidisciplinary program coordinated between the Haskayne School of Business, Schulich School of Engineering and the faculties of Law and Environmental Design. The Fennell scholarship will help dedicated graduate students who want to develop a holistic knowledge of energy and environmental management to help solve sustainability challenges facing the world.

“When we looked into various programs, we found that the SEDV portfolio was the broadest, encompassing various faculties, and this was very appealing,” says Jon, MSc’95, PhD’08, a principle hydrogeologist and vice-president of consulting and water security at Integrated Sustainability. “This type of multidisciplinary holistic approach to problem solving is what we as a society will need going forward. The industries I’ve worked in and supported over the years have suffered from siloing — looking at things from a somewhat limited perspective.”

“The world needs interdisciplinary, holistic solutions to the many problems that we face. It made sense to Jon and me to establish a scholarship that prepares our young adults to develop and execute solutions that are truly sustainable,” adds Heather, BComm’84.

Jon has always been very passionate about water — so much so he’s co-authoring a book about the topic — and feels that it’s one of the most important and least understood resources that we have. “I don’t think a lot of people know where their water comes from, the value it generates in our economy, or the importance that it has for our environment. My desire is to raise awareness and literacy around water in any way that I can,” says Jon.

“My interest in sustainability was shaped by my career in the oil and gas industry, rather than the other way around,” adds Heather. “Although the companies I worked for had environmental departments, I believe that much more can be done to make exploration, development and production of our natural resource more conducive to, and respectful of, our natural environment. The SEDV program will help prepare our next industry leaders with the skills necessary to take on the challenges and opportunities to do these things better.”

“Education is an important part of moving our society forward. Jon and I have benefited from the privilege of higher education and believe it is very important to pay that privilege forward.

This program is intensive, requiring students to apply themselves full time, and it is our hope that the scholarship will help ease their financial burden so they can focus on their studies.”

Passionate about sustainability?
Learn more about SEDV