Chesapeake Energy Corporation And Oklahoma State University Announce Additional Scholarships

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) today announced a $500,000 donation to Oklahoma State University to assist with student scholarships in the Boone Pickens School of Geology and the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology (CEAT). The donation raises Chesapeake’s scholarship commitment on the Stillwater campus to $1 million. Chesapeake made a $500,000 donation in 2003 dedicated to students from rural Oklahoma.

The five-year program was announced on the Chesapeake campus during a reception for scholarship recipients attended by OSU Interim President Marlene Strathe, University faculty and OSU graduates employed by Chesapeake. Martha Burger, Senior Vice President – Corporate and Human Resources, and Jeff Fisher, Senior Vice President – Production, made the announcement on behalf of Chesapeake.

“We are extremely appreciative of what Chesapeake is doing for OSU and our students,” said Strathe. “Chesapeake not only is assisting us in our academic mission, but is an excellent employer of our graduates and one of Oklahoma’s leading corporate partners.”

“The continued pursuit of excellence in our higher-education system is one of the most vital missions in securing Oklahoma’s long-term economic future,” said Burger. “It’s extremely important for Chesapeake to invest in Oklahoma’s future by supporting higher education across the state. We are grateful OSU has supplied us with a great group of employees and we anticipate that this scholarship program will attract more OSU graduates to our team in the future.”

“As one of many OSU graduates employed at Chesapeake, it’s exciting to be involved in providing scholarship assistance to current OSU students,” said Fisher. “The demand for highly skilled, technologically talented graduates will continue to increase and it’s important for the corporate community to partner with higher education to ensure students have the resources necessary to earn their degrees. I’m proud Chesapeake has taken this important step.”

Over the next five years the $500,000 donation will fund up to 12 scholarships in the Boone Pickens School of Geology and up to eight in CEAT annually. Additionally, the Chesapeake Rural Scholars Program established in 2003 will award 20 $2,500 scholarships during the 2007-2008 academic year.

The announcement represents the latest addition to the Chesapeake Scholars Program, implemented at over 33 colleges and universities in 12 states. Since its inception in 2003, the program has donated or pledged over $6 million in scholarship assistance.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation is the largest independent producer and third-largest overall producer of natural gas in the United States. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, the company’s operations are focused on exploratory and developmental drilling and corporate and property acquisitions in the Mid-Continent, Fort Worth Barnett Shale, Fayetteville Shale, Permian Basin, Delaware Basin, South Texas, Texas Gulf Coast, Ark-La-Tex and Appalachian Basin regions of the United States.

Oklahoma’s only university with a statewide presence, Oklahoma State University is a five-campus, public land-grant educational system that improves the lives of people in Oklahoma, the nation, and the world through integrated, high-quality teaching, research and outreach. OSU has more than 32,000 students across its system and more than 20,000 on its Stillwater campus. Established in 1890, the Stillwater campus is the home of the OSU System. The STATE’s university boasts students from all 50 states and nearly 120 nations, and has more than 200,000 alumni throughout the world.

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