OOGEEP Announces Winner of Top Education Award

(Granville, OH) – The Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program (OOGEEP) is proud to announce the winner of its 2019 Pipeline Award, Craig Whitaker, a physical geology teacher at Perry High School in Massillon, Ohio, and an Adjunct Professor at both Stark State College and Eastern Gateway Community College. Mr. Whitaker is the sixth recipient of the industry’s annual award.

This year’s OOGEEP Pipeline Award was presented to an individual who has made a positive educational impact to the state of Ohio. Mr. Whitaker received the special trophy during OOGEEP’s presentation at the Ohio Oil and Gas Association’s annual industry meeting. “I appreciate all that you do for educators around the state. Your hard work and dedication in connecting industry to educators leads the way nationwide, and deserves to be recognized as well,” stated Whitaker during his acceptance speech to an audience of more than 750 attendees.

A teacher for almost 15 years, Whitaker specializes in physical geology and earth science. After attending an OOGEEP STEM program in 2014, and upon the Ohio Department of Education’s designation of geology as an “Advanced” list science, along with biology, chemistry and physics, Whitaker suggested that OOGEEP work on a new curriculum and teacher workshop dedicated to geology. With his assistance, and that of other distinguished geology experts from all over Ohio, the pilot program was launched in 2016. Whitaker now serves as one of the instructors at OOGEEP’s STEM and Geology teacher workshops, which are available at no charge to Ohio teachers.

“Craig Whitaker has taken a lead role in improving Ohio educator’s abilities to teach science in an engaging way,” said Greg Mason, Vice Chair of OOGEEP’s Operating Board and an industry geologist by trade. “He has taken real world experience, applied it in the classroom, and now shares that with other educators. This has a direct and positive impact on our industry, and to those students that may enter our future workforce.”

OOGEEP’s teacher programs have provided more than 2,700 Ohio teachers with insight into real-world applications of STEM and geology. “It’s important for Ohio’s teachers and students to learn about a technology-oriented industry that operates 365 days a year and impacts every single resident in this state,” said Rhonda Reda, OOGEEP Executive Director. “Our state’s natural gas and oil producers are proud to support teachers and students in our communities and give them a better understanding of how science, technology, engineering, math, chemistry and geology education is critical to developing our local energy resources.”

The Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program (OOGEEP) is a non-profit statewide education and public outreach program. Created in 1998, OOGEEP provides a variety of programs throughout the State of Ohio. These programs primarily focus on teacher workshops, scholarships, science fair, firefighter training, industry safety training, career and workforce development, research and guest speaker programs.