Tulsa, OK – The University of Tulsa College of Law and the George Kaiser Family Foundation announced the creation of the Frederic Dorwart Chair in Energy Law during an event held Tuesday at the law school.
The chair was named in honor of the George Kaiser Family Foundation's president and longtime attorney, Frederic Dorwart of Tulsa law firm Frederic Dorwart, Lawyers. The foundation provided the gift, which establishes an additional faculty position focusing on sustainable energy sources and emerging trends in the energy sector. A nationwide search is underway to recruit a faculty member for the position.
Along with serving as president and trustee of the George Kaiser Family Foundation, Dorwart is also president of the Advisory Board of the TU Undergraduate Research Challenge (TURC) and organizer of the Tulsa Stadium Trust Improvement District. Since entering the practice of law in 1966, he has enjoyed success in litigation and transactional law, principally oil and gas, securities, and banking law.
TU President Steadman Upham thanked the foundation for its wide-ranging support of TU, including the new faculty position.
"It is rare in the life of a university president to find a partner with the breadth of vision possessed by the George Kaiser Family Foundation," Upham said. "The foundation's commitment to community advancement is a natural and powerful ally to our work here at TU, as we prepare students for leadership in a world of pressing needs and abundant opportunities."
Janet K. Levit, dean of the TU College of Law, plans to have the position filled for the 2010-11 academic year. The professor will teach in the areas of energy policy, energy law as it applies to sustainability and renewable resources, public utility law and environmental law. The professor will also serve as a fellow of the National Energy Policy Institute, a partnership formed between the George Kaiser Family Foundation and TU charged with developing recommendations for a national energy policy to reduce America's dependence on imported oil and its greenhouse gas emissions, among other initiatives.
"The George Kaiser Family Foundation has made substantial contributions to The University of Tulsa that have been integral to growth on our campus and invaluable to the pursuit of the University's mission," Levit said.