William Galloway, an Emeritus and award-winning Member of AAPG, continues to reside in Austin, and remains active as professor emeritus in the Institute for Geophysics at the Jackson School of Geosciences. He is the recipient of three A.I. Levorsen awards, the Grover E. Murray Memorial Distinguished Educator Award, the Wallace E. Pratt Memorial Award and, in 2016, the John W. Shelton Search and Discovery Award.
We deeply regret and apologize for the error and resulting confusion to both families.)
There is a great deal of consideration that goes into establishing a lasting legacy. Donors want to support efforts that are meaningful to them. Families want their loved ones to be remembered for life-long achievements. Finding the right purpose and the right intent is very similar to going on a mission.
It is no small coincidence that AAPG includes such aims as “advance the science of geology,” “promote the technology of exploring,” “foster the spirit of scientific research” and “disseminate information” as components of its mission statement. These ideas resonate with many of those who donate each year or establish endowments with AAPG Foundation.
The Chandler and Laura Wilhelm Named Grant
AAPG members Chandler and Laura Wilhelm place a high priority on geoscience education. They met while they were both pursuing their masters’ degrees in geology at the University of Colorado.
“Being a petroleum geologist has enriched my life in ways that I could not have imagined when I was a student contemplating what to do with a degree in geology,” Chandler said.
Throughout the Wilhelms’ careers and their lives, AAPG had special meaning to them both.
Laura’s graduate thesis examined foraminifera of the Mancos Shale in western Colorado, and upon graduation, she worked as a paleontologist for Amoco Production Company in Denver. Chandler and Laura married in 1984, and they made their home in Houston. Laura continued her career as a micropaleontologist until after the birth of their third child, at which time she decided to focus full-time on guiding their children to adulthood. Laura’s energy and contributions to her family and her community include volunteering at schools and her church, where she serves as the Opportunity Endowment Fund chair, which supports charitable missions across the globe. In addition, she is an accomplished artist and art historian who studies mosaics and the history of the art form in ancient cultures.
After earning his master’s degree, Chandler began his career with Shell Oil Company. As a petroleum geologist and organizational leader, he worked at Shell’s global deepwater exploration and appraisal evaluation, Artic exploration and unconventional exploration and appraisal programs. He has traveled the globe, making notable discoveries of “deepwater fields in Angola, Brazil, Nigeria and the Gulf of Mexico, along with multiple unconventional plays in British Columbia, Alberta, the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast, the Delaware Basin in West Texas, Pennsylvania and Argentina.”
At AAPG, Chandler has served as president of the Division of Professional Affairs, is a Trustee Associate of AAPG Foundation and of the American Geosciences Institute Foundation. He has been honored with AAPG’s Distinguished Service Award and co-authored two Discovery Thinking papers presented at the AAPG annual meeting and co-authored a DPA special publication, “Heritage of the Petroleum Geologist.”
When the Wilhelms considered how their education in geology laid the foundation for both of their careers, they wanted to give others similar opportunities. Together they decided to establish the Chandler and Laura Wilhelm Named Grant.
“My wife and I established this fund,“ Chandler said, “to help students who desire to enter this great profession realize their educational goals.”
The B. Glenn Galloway Memorial Grant
His wife of 43 years described Bedford Glenn Galloway as having “a ceaseless wonder of the beauty of God’s world around him,” noting that he left “a legacy of love for wild places.” Glenn Galloway’s love of the outdoors included hobbies such as “rockhounding, geology, archaeology, flint-knapping, Native American lore and artifacts, mountaineering, backpacking, hunting” and more, reflecting his connection to nature.
“While hiking on mountain trails, he would stop to point out bear scratches on a trees, some interesting rocks or geologic sites, a patch of blueberries or a rare alpine flower that others might quickly pass by,” said his wife, Diane Caylor Galloway. Upon his recent passing, Diane and their son Gregory wanted to find a suitable way to honor Glenn’s life and his love of “wild places.” The family decided to establish a scholarship: the B. Glenn Galloway Memorial Grant.
Diane knew that the AAPG Foundation would be a good choice because her family had dealt with her father’s bequest to AAPG Foundation years earlier. She knew that they would receive a letter and often a photo of the grant recipient each year.
“We have the pleasure of sending him or her a letter of congratulations,” she said. They also tell the recipient about Glenn Galloway and at the close of each year, the family can reconnect with the recipient, “read a summary of the research and what they learned, thanks to the grant they received.”
Diane knows that the grant she established in her husband’s name receives the same reliable care, transparency and attention to detail as her father’s legacy. “We know in advance that the funds will be handled well, and that each year we will be contacted with the recipient’s name,” and most importantly, Diane’s family has a loving reminder of Glenn Galloway, “the gift that keeps on giving, thanks to AAPG Foundation. This is a wonderful way to establish a legacy to remember your loved ones in a way that also helps others.”
Each year, AAPG Foundation receives donations for grants and scholarships to assist deserving geoscience students, student organizations and educators. The Grants-in-Aid program awards graduate-level research in the geosciences. Applicants are awarded based on merit, and in part, on the financial needs of the applicant.
There are a total of 124 graduate students from across the world who are Grants-in-Aid recipients for 2018, with a total of $283,500 in geoscience research funds awarded.
The impact of AAPG members’ generous support keeps the mission and promotion of geoscience education, research, technological advancement and high ethical standards of the AAPG Foundation intact. Learn more about how you can make a contribution of support to the program of your choice at Foundation.AAPG.org. The AAPG Foundation is a 501(c) (3) public foundation, qualified to receive contributions in support of educational and scientific initiatives or projects related to the geosciences.