OU ROTC Receives $20M Gift From Mulva Family Foundation

More scholarships are on the way for University of Oklahoma students enrolled in Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program. 

President James Gallogly announced a $20 million gift from Miriam and James Mulva of Green Bay, Wisconsin. The gift through the Mulva Family Foundation will be used to create a scholarship endowment and to renovate the historic OU Armory and fourth floor of Cate Center 4.

The Mulva Family Foundation ROTC Scholarship Endowment will offer tuition, room and board scholarships for students who are enrolled in the Army ROTC, the Naval/Marine ROTC or the Air Force ROTC.

The other part of the gift will establish the Mulva Family Foundation Renovation Fund for Cate 4 in Cate Center and the OU Armory, a nearly century-old building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The OU Armory was built in 1919, and has served as drill floor, office space, classroom and museum for the historical memorabilia collected over decades.

Jim Mulva, who was raised in Green Bay, attended OU in the mid-1960s and was part of the Naval ROTC. He transferred to the University of Texas, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1968 and a master of business administration degree in finance the following year. After graduation, Jim served four years as a U.S. naval officer.

In 1973, he started work at Bartlesville-based Phillips Petroleum, culminating in being named president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board. When Phillips and Conoco merged in 2001, he was tapped to lead the company. He retired from the Houston-based company in 2012.