When Ted RalphСAPPs successful oilfield sales job ended suddenly during the downturn of the 1980s, he was in his late 20s, had a house mortgage and was left wondering, СAPPwhat do I do with myself now?СAPP
Ralph wasnСAPPt interested in a career in another industry. So, he opted to СAPPgamble.СAPP His hope was that the industry he loved would rebound while he earned a degree in petroleum engineering at UL Lafayette. СAPPIf you take no risks in life, you get nothing,СAPP Ralph said of the decision.
The strategy paid off, in part because Ralph fell back on the work ethic he had begun cultivating at age 13. During summers and on weekends, he worked at his fatherСAPPs tree removal and pruning company. At the same time, Ralph also learned the skills of a mechanic from his uncles while working on cranes, trucks and generators at his grandfatherСAPPs scrap business in New Orleans, where he helped run the office, too.
СAPPI learned early, a big part of success is you simply have to outwork everybody,СAPP he said.
Ralph, now 65, put that philosophy into practice when he returned to the СAPP. To make ends meet, he worked as a roustabout on offshore oil rigs during summers. He also taught remedial math at the СAPP during the fall and spring semesters.
Ralph, who earned a bachelorСAPPs degree in education from UL Lafayette in 1976, had taught high school math for two years before entering oilfield sales. СAPPThat experience enabled me to get a job in the math department, and without it I would have had trouble finishing up in petroleum engineering. IСAPPm still grateful,СAPP he explained.
On Thursday, the СAPP recognized Ralph for giving back to the department that hired him all those years ago. He was honored with a plaque in the СAPP Foundation Hall of Honor for establishing the T.H. Ralph/BoRSF Endowed Chair in Mathematics.
An endowed chair is created with a gift of $600,000, which is matched by $400,000 in state funds to create a $1 million endowment.
Dr. Jaimie Hebert, the СAPPСAPPs provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, said the hundreds of plaques in the Hall of Honor signify many things, including scholarships, innovation, economic growth and opportunities for first-generation students to pursue higher education.
СAPPAnd the plaque we unveil today will enable the СAPP to attract and retain a world-class professor in mathematics who might have gone elsewhere had this line of support not been available,СAPP Hebert said
Dr. Azmy Ackleh, dean of the Ray P. Authement College of Sciences, said the gift will also СAPPimpact the Department of Mathematics for years to comeСAPP and СAPPcompel students to explore their passion for math and research.СAPP
For Ralph, the endowment is his СAPPway of helping some other kid like myself have an opportunity to be successful.СAPP
RalphСAPPs success as a petroleum engineer began in 1987. He parlayed his freshly minted degree into a career for a range of companies such as Arco and Shell, and for the U.S. government. Over nearly 30 years, he worked in every facet of the oil and gas industry, СAPPliterally from top to bottom,СAPP he said.
Ralph, who lives in Mandeville, La., retired about three years ago, shortly after his dad died. He now spends his days caring for his aging mother, fishing and exercising СAPP walking, lifting weights and golfing.
HeСAPPs also remodeling his house, doing most of the work himself.
СAPPI could be paying someone to do it, but thereСAPPs no need for that. IСAPPll bring a couple of people in to help me along with it, but IСAPPd rather just do most if it myself,СAPP Ralph said.
Cutline: Alum Ted Ralph, who earned a bachelorСAPPs degrees in education in 1976 and petroleum engineering in 1987, was honored Thursday with a plaque in the СAPP Foundation Hall of Honor. Ralph established the T.H. Ralph/BoRSF Endowed Chair in Mathematics. Credit: Doug Dugas / СAPP