Company Pledges $50 million in College Scholarships

EL DORADO, Ark. - In one of the most generous programs of its kind anywhere in the country, an oil company announced Monday it is putting up $50 million for college scholarships for nearly all high school graduates in its working-class hometown over the next 20 years.

Students at an El Dorado High School assembly screamed and applauded when Murphy Oil, the nation’s ninth-largest refiner, unveiled the program. Some wept, and one made the sign of the cross.

“I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get everything paid for with all the loans I’d have to get,” said Scott Zimmerebner, a senior. He said plans to attend the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville “now that it’s all paid for.”

Murphy Oil said it wants to increase the number of students who attend college and perhaps attract new businesses to El Dorado, with the scholarships a selling point. It said it also hopes the program will help create better jobs here for students to come back to after graduating from college.

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