Wilfrid D. “Bill” Roach (BS 1954, Petroleum Engineering) is a Canadian citizen who made the decision to study abroad for his petroleum engineering degree, and he chose The University of Tulsa. By the 1950s, TU’s petroleum engineering program was gaining an international reputation for excellence, thanks in large part to the work of Ralph L. Langenheim. Langenheim was Dean of the College of Petroleum Sciences and Engineering from 1930, when it had only 83 students, until 1959, when it had more than 450 students. Roach continues to be grateful to Dean Langenheim, whom he recalls as being “very patient.”
Bill Roach became actively involved in campus activities when he was a TU student, participating in Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, the Engineering Club, the Foreign Students Association, and the Newman Club. Through this campus involvement, Bill met his beloved wife, Helen Ann McAlpine. She also was involved in Greek life as a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, and the couple enjoyed many happy years of marriage and raised four sons before Helen passed away in 2013.
Roach used the skills and knowledge he gained in his TU petroleum engineering studies to launch a successful career after graduation, working for an American independent oil company in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, for five years before forming his own engineering company, which specialized in gas well testing and evaluation. This business was eventually purchased by a subsidiary of Schlumberger, after which Bill focused his efforts on business investment and management.
Bill Roach gave generously to his alma mater in 2018 to support the petroleum engineering externship program, which helps provide valuable field training for students in TU’s McDougall School of Petroleum Engineering. Then in 2019, he established The Wilfrid D. Roach Scholarship in Petroleum Engineering to support those following in his footsteps in this academically rigorous program at TU. In appreciation for his generosity and loyalty to his alma mater, TU has recognized Mr. Roach as a member of the esteemed Circle Society and the Chapman Legacy Society, which celebrates those donors who have established lasting legacies through endowments and planned gifts.
The University of Tulsa is deeply grateful to this caring alumnus whose namesake scholarship fund will assist TU petroleum engineering students for generations to come. We look forward to the many accomplishments of our Wilfrid D. Roach Petroleum Engineering Scholars.
