Adolphe G. Gueymard

Mr. Gueymard  has a long relationship with LSU. He graduated in  1935 from  LSU with a B.S. in petroleum engineering, which set the stage for a fascinating and productive career. He  was in  the 101st airborne in World War II and  fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He landed on D-day in a glider and, for many years,  returned to  France for reunions.  For his service, he received two bronze stars and two presidential unit citations and finished with the rank of Major.

He worked for Tidewater Oil Company before moving to Houston, where he joined the First City
National Bank. He retired from the First City National  Bank  as Senior Vice President for Petroleum
and Minerals. After "retirement",  he served as Director of several Boards and/or Foundations including:
Zapata Corp, Camco, Inco, Harrisburg Bank, Midhurst Corp., First City National Bank of Houston, Texas.
He is also a Past President of the LSU Foundation and the Campanile Charities.

Although he is "retired" he still works as a self-employed petroleum and financial consultant in Houston. He keeps busy with oil and gas investments and continues to serve on the board of many organizations.
He is a member of the Petroleum Club of Houston; American Bankers Association; American Petroleum
Institute; Society of Petroleum Engineers of AMIE; AAPG; Houston Geological Society; Houston Chamber of Commerce and is a registered professional engineer for the state of Texas.

Mr. Gueymard has been instrumental in two professorships in the Geology  & Geophysics Department.
The Campanile Charities Professorship was established in 1986 by a group of LSU supporters, including
Mr. Adolphe Gueymard and eleven Geology alumni. Mr. Gueymard  was one of the leaders in initiating this professorship and seeing it through to its completion. In 1997,  he endowed a fund to establish
the Adolphe G. Gueymard  Distinguished Professorship in the College of  Basic Sciences. This professorship is awarded in the Department of Geology  & Geophysics and is affiliated with the Center for Excellence in Science Teaching. This award is given to a faculty member who maintains a strong research program in addition to demonstrated excellence in their teaching duties, primarily at the undergraduate level. Mr. Gueymard has also established other Professorships across campus. We are grateful for his help in sustaining our program.

(Thanks to Ms. Angela Broussard and Dr. Radford Byerly for information. Photo courtsey of the late Erny Hill.)

Adolphe G. Gueymard inducted into the LSU Basic Sciences Hall of Distinction
March 2006

Adolphe Gueymard and Gueymard Professor
Barb Dutrow at the induction ceremonies.




Below is the citation read by Dean Kevin Carman at the Ceremony

Dolphe Gueymard was born in Carville, LA.He earned a BS degree from LSU in Petroleum Engineering in 1935. While at LSU, he was captain of an ROTC company, then became a reserve officer in World War II. While at LSU, Dolphe was a member of the Lamda Chi Alpha fraternity, and was in the Omicron Delta Kappa honorary society. He was also in the Scabbard and Blade Society and the Geological and Mining Society.

Mr. Gueymard’s service in the WW II is the stuff of legends, and I can only give you a taste of it here. Dolphe served in the famous 101st Airborne, and he was in the 3rd glider plane to land on Normandy on D-Day. He also fought in the Battle of the Bulge. In an AP story, a young war correspondent by the name of Walter Cronkite, filed the following report on Sept. 26, 1944: “A make-shift crew…handling a US glider-borne anti-tank gun, which made a hasty emergency shot that knocked out a German tank, was credited today with saving possibly hundreds of British and American soldiers.  The crewmen were Lt. Col. X.B. Cox, San Angelo, Tx; Capt. Adolphe Gueymard, Baton Rouge,LA, and Pfc. Rogie Roberts, Port Arthur, Tx." For his extraordinary service to his country, Mr. Gueymard received two bronze stars and two presidential unit citations. He finished his military career at the rank of major.

After the war, Dolph Worked for Tidewater Oil Company before moving to where he joined the First City National Bank.  When he retired from First City Natl Bank he held the title of Senior VP for Petroleum and Minerals. Dolph has served as director of several organizations including: Zapata Corp, Camco, Inco, Harrisburg Bank, and Midhurst Corp, and has worked as a consultant in the oil investments business for many decades.

Mr. Gueymard was active in professional organizations, and was a member of the American Petroleum Institute, Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, and the Independent Petroleum Association of America.

Dolph has been a member of the LSU Foundation since 1965 and served as it president in 1969.  He was one of the founding members of Campanile Charities, an organization whose goal is to benefit LSU. Dr. Darrell Henry currently holds the title of Campanile Charities Professor in Geology & Geophysics. Dolphe also established the Gueymard Professorship in Geology & Geophysics, which is held by Dr. Barbara Dutrow.

            Mr. Gueymard has been listed in the LSU Foundation President’s Awards for Lifetime Support since 1992, and has been a strong supporter of the of Basic Sciences. In 2000, Dolph was inducted into the Alumni Association Hall of Distinction.

Dolphe attributes much of his success to the unique experiences that he had the LSU Geology Field Camp, which is located in the mountains of southern Colorado. Dolphe has been a tireless supporter and advocate of the Field Camp for many years, and has served on the Field Camp Campaign Committee since its inception. The Camp continues to provide a vital, and I might add, required, field experience for aspiring geologists and petroleum engineers, largely thanks to the efforts of Mr. Gueymard.

Clearly, Dolphe has had a remarkably successful career, he has served heroically for his country, and has demonstrated in many tangible ways that he bleeds purple and gold.