Dr. Lee ’75 ’83 and Joanne Billingsley ’75 ’82 of San Antonio have established an endowed scholarship to support graduate students in the Department of Geology and Geophysics. This is the second scholarship funded by the Billingsleys.
Their new gift, which establishes the Lee ’75 ’83 and Joanne Billingsley ’75 ’82 Endowed Graduate Scholarship, will give preference to Texas A&M students who have a strong interest in pursuing a career in natural resource evaluation or extraction, either as professionals or educators.
A first-generation college student from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Lee benefitted from a Texas A&M scholarship that allowed him to qualify for in-state tuition to study geology. He met Joanne in their first-year chemistry class. She is a San Antonio native who studied educational instruction and curriculum.
After graduation, the couple moved to Colorado where Lee earned a master’s degree from the Colorado School of Mines. They returned to Texas A&M so that Lee could pursue a Ph.D. in geology and Joanne could earn a master’s degree from the School of Public Health.
After completing his doctorate, Lee worked in the oil and gas industry. In 1983, he founded Sandia Oil & Gas Corp, which was purchased by Abraxas Petroleum Corp. in 1998. Lee served as Abraxas’ vice president of exploration before founding and serving as president of Windridge Oil & Gas LP. He was elected president of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists from 2006-2007.
Joanne, who worked as a secondary teacher and science specialist, was the Northeast Independent School District Teacher of the Year, Education Service Center Region 20 Teacher of the Year, and received the KENS-5 Excellence in Teaching Award. She is a nationally acclaimed author, educational consultant and presenter.