Vitol Inc. President Pledges $10 Million to UTEP

EL PASO, Texas, Oct. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The University of Texas at El Paso alumnus Mike Loya, president of energy giant Vitol Inc., returned to his alma mater to pledge a $10 million gift, the largest donation to date to the University's Centennial Campaign. 

UTEP President Diana Natalicio made the announcement Oct. 19.

"Like many engineers I know, Mike Loya is not a big talker, but he's certainly a big doer," President Natalicio said. "This major gift represents his generous spirit, his passion for higher education, his love for his family, his loyalty to UTEP and his continued commitment to this El Paso region where his highly successful life got its start." 

Two million dollars will be used to expand doctoral programs, research and entrepreneurship in UTEP's College of Engineering. The remaining funds will be distributed between the colleges of Engineering and Business Administration to foster collaboration and prepare students to respond to the complex economic dimensions of energy trading and the aggressive competition for energy resources around the world.

"I hope the gift can help support UTEP in continuing to provide the great start to a career that I and many others have enjoyed," Loya said. "I am fortunate that I can give something back to an institution that provided so much for me."

At the Forefront: The Centennial Campaign for UTEP is the University's most ambitious fundraising campaign to date, with a goal to raise $200 million by the University's 100th anniversary in 2014.

"Mr. Loya's gift is monumental to the Centennial Campaign," said Russell Vandenburg, chairman of UTEP's Centennial Campaign Leadership Council. "Mike Loya grew up in El Paso … and was the first to graduate college from his family, a story very familiar to UTEP. I believe Mr. Loya's gift will motivate other homegrown El Pasoans to give back to their University."

An El Paso native, Loya was the first of his seven siblings to earn a college degree. He received his bachelor's in mechanical engineering from UTEP in 1977 and his M.B.A. from Harvard in 1979. 

Loya has gone on to a stellar career in the global energy industry. He has held positions with Esso Eastern, Tenneco Oil and Transworld Oil before assuming leadership of Vitol Inc., the North and South American arm of the Vitol Group.

CONTACT: Veronique Masterson, +1-915-747-7503, [email protected]

SOURCE University of Texas at El Paso