Left to right: Dr. Ouimette, his wife Nina, Jacque and Dr. Holland

Hardin-Simmons University's Dr. Mark Ouimette, professor and head of geological and environmental sciences, received the first ever Holland Award of Excellence from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists presented by Dr. David "Scotty" Holland in a special ceremony in the Holland Health Science Building on the HSU campus, Wed, Sep 3.

Dr. Ouimette, whose 14 years of hands-on teaching at HSU give students an appreciation for fieldwork and an authentic context for geological sciences says, "I am very honored to receive this award. I am truly thankful to the Dr. Holland and the AAPG for making it available. The award is an affirmation of the learning environment we provide here at Hardin-Simmons. You won't find the attention to detail directed toward a student's future at any public institution like what we have here."

The award was established by the Hollands, through the AAPG, to select high achieving faculty members from the Holland School of Sciences and Mathematics for special recognition and award. Intended for professional development and enrichment, the purpose of the award, and the endowment that makes it possible, is to make the best in the classroom better at the Holland School of Sciences and Mathematics.

The recipient of the award is selected by the dean, and the dean determines the manner in which the funds will be used prior to the finalization of the award. Most of the award will go toward the purchase of much needed equipment for the department, including a high quality microscope and a digital visual device for lectures (known as ELMO), and the remainder will be used to send Dr. Ouimette to meetings focused at geoscience department accreditation.

"The Holland School is excited to be the beneficiary of another gift from Dr. and Mrs. Holland," says Dr. Chris McNair, dean of the school, "This annual gift enables the recipient to purchase much needed Awequipment, attend professional meetings, and develop the curriculum for programs in their respective area of sciences and mathematics. We are all very proud of this year's recipient, Dr. Mark Ouimette."

The AAPG Foundation was established in 1967 with the primary goal of providing a source of funding for educational, charitable, and scientific objectives, which directly and indirectly benefit the geologic profession and the general public.

Dr. Holland has been a geologist, corporate executive, industry leader and entrepreneur. He joined Pennzoil in the mid-1960s as a senior exploration geologist, and ultimately became president and chief executive officer of Pennzoil Exploration and Production, and served as a group vice president of the Pennzoil Company until his retirement in 1990.

Presently, he is president of Holland Holding Inc., Holland energy Inc. and Post Oak Petroleum and serves on the boards of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, The Geology Foundation of the University of Texas, and the AAPG Foundation. In 1997 Dr. Holland and his wife, Jacque, established the Endowed Holland Geology Scholarship Fund; in 2000, they funded the major endowment for the HSU School of Sciences and Mathematics; and recently, their financial gift led to the Holland Award of Excellence at Hardin-Simmons University. Recently, they were instrumental in funding the $3.9 million Holland Health Science Building, the location of a "first of its kind" high school health sciences magnet school built and maintained by HSU.