The University of Tulsa alumnus John Harvey III (BA ’85) was well on his way to a vocation in medicine when he took a detour that led him to a degree in chemistry and a career that has often taken him halfway around the world. He is proud that all of his hard work and struggle have paid off.
A native of Houston, Texas, Harvey came from a modest home where his father, a postal worker, and his mother, a teacher, raised John and his older sister. Getting to and through college would not be easy. He had originally set his sights on becoming a physician because he had stuttered and was deaf in one ear as a child, and he found a way to meet his financial needs while moving toward his goal. At the University of Texas, he majored in biochemistry and pre-medicine, and he also took paramedic training and obtained his license in that field. Using his medical knowledge, Harvey lived with a group of quadriplegic students, whom he assisted with daily tasks during his sophomore, junior and senior years at UT.
At that time, the Amoco Corporation offered a co-op program for science and engineering majors. Harvey was accepted into the program and found himself in Tulsa working at the company’s 41st & Yale research center in the Drilling Fluids Chemistry Group. There he met Dr. Dale Teeters, a TU chemistry professor who worked at the facility during the summer months. Teeters helped nurture Harvey’s growing interest in chemistry.
Returning to UT to complete his degree became cost prohibitive, so Harvey decided to transfer to The University of Tulsa. It took him another two and a half years to obtain his bachelor’s degree, working his way through school in multiple jobs. Along with his Amoco job, he worked at a Tulsa nursing home and assisted with triage at St. John Medical Center. Harvey’s transfer meant temporarily leaving behind his future wife, Jennifer, whom he had tutored in a UT biology course. The couple eventually married, and before he graduated from TU, they welcomed baby Bethany into their lives. The balance of school, work and family life was challenging, and he recalls his wife and daughter waiting in the car for him during some of his classes because they only owned one vehicle. He gives credit to his professors, Dr. Teeters, Dr. Robert (Bob) Howard and Dr. Edward McKay, who helped keep him motivated during this time.
After graduation, Harvey accepted a full-time position with Amoco (later British Petroleum or bp), and then an offshoot company, Ineos, from which he retired in 2011 after serving in several capacities. That same year, he joined a new venture, Elevance Renewable Sciences, which transformed natural plant-based oils into specialty products. In 2015, he returned to bp and is currently plant manager of bp’s Cooper River Chemicals Plant in South Carolina, where he has directed a modernization project resulting in a significant decrease in the plant’s energy usage and carbon dioxide emissions.
In 2010, this highly successful alumnus established the John Harvey III Endowed Scholarship for the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (formerly known as the John Harvey III Engineering and Natural Sciences Endowed Scholarship Fund) to assist chemistry and biochemistry majors with an emphasis on diversity. His generosity to his alma mater actually dates all the way back to 1998 and includes gifts to support the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and an annual scholarship fund that bore his name, which he supported from 2001 to 2009.
In addition to his financial support of TU, John has generously given of his time and talent by serving on the Chemistry and Biochemistry Advisory Board for many years, and he and Jennifer have been recognized as members of the esteemed Circle Society and the Chapman Legacy Society.
In 2020, John was awarded TU’s highest honor, being named a Distinguished Alumnus in recognition of his outstanding career achievements and loyalty to his alma mater.
The University of Tulsa, its Oxley College of Health and Natural Sciences, and TU’s John Harvey Scholars are grateful for John’s desire to pay forward the kindness shown to him during his busy undergraduate years. Just as the right combination of chemicals assures a good result, the John Harvey III Engineering and Natural Sciences Endowed Scholarship Fund will help dedicated students become valuable contributors as they pursue their goals.
