Baylor Dedicates Ken and Celia Carlile Atrium

Contact: Cindy Dougherty, Baylor University Development, (254) 710-2561

In recognition of their vision, leadership and generosity to the university, Baylor University honored Ken and Celia Carlile of Marshall with the dedication of the Ken and Celia Carlile Atrium in the Baylor Sciences Building on April 25.

"It is so fitting that current and future students discovering new knowledge and participating in research alongside Baylor professors will enter this place of learning through the Ken and Celia Carlile Atrium," said Baylor President John M. Lilley.

Ken (BA '69, DDS '73, PhD '96) worked for his father's oil company as a young man and after practicing dentistry for several years, returned to the oil business. Currently, he is co-owner of The Carlile Companies, which consist of Martex Well Services Inc.; Unitex Properties L.L.P., and Camterra Resources Inc. He is also co-owner of Camterra Resources Inc., which operates in four states and the Gulf of Mexico.

"Over the years Ken and his family have assisted the geology department in innumerable ways," said Dr. Steven G. Driese, professor and chair of Baylor's department of geology. "In spite of all his great successes, Ken has been, and remains, an especially approachable and down-to-earth person. Whereas I have little firsthand oil and gas industry experience and am an academic at heart, I feel fortunate that we communicate exceptionally well regarding issues affecting the future of the geology department."

The Carliles' faithful philanthropy to the university includes support for a research center in geology, the Packard Lecture Hall in Physics, the Kenneth Q. and Celia C. Carlile Endowed Scholarship Fund and honoring professor emeriti Dr. Harold Beaver and Dr. Bill Brown with the Beaver/Brown Applied Petroleum Studies Laboratory, which also was dedicated at the ceremony.

A lifetime member of the Baylor Alumni Association, Ken was selected as a Distinguished Alumnus in 2003, received the W.R. White Meritorious Service Award in 2001 and has given his time to groups, such as the Baylor Foundation, the Baylor College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Board and the Geology Advisory Board. Celia, who serves in various community organizations, received the Alumna Honoris Causa award in 1992. The Carliles also have received the Herbert H. Reynolds Award for Exemplary Services and the James Huckins and Pat Neff Medallions.

For more information about supporting the geology department or other sciences at Baylor, contact University Development at 1-800-BAYLOR-U, option 4, or (254) 710-2561. Gifts also can be made online through Baylor's secure site at www.baylor.edu/onlinegiving.

Text from the citation honoring Ken and Celia Carlile, read at the April 25 dedication ceremony of the Ken and Celia Carlile Atrium:

Ken and Celia Carlile of Marshall, Texas, have provided a model for many through the years by their vision, leadership and generosity. The Carliles embody commendable qualities: a caring for people, a nurturing of the mind and the spirit, a conviction that learning lasts a lifetime and a belief that the best days of the university lie ahead.

The Carliles have been consistent contributors to a variety of university needs, particularly those in the sciences. Their generosity has provided for a research center in geology, the Packard Lecture Hall in Physics, the Kenneth Q. and Celia C. Carlile Endowed Scholarship Fund and an applied petroleum studies laboratory.

Dr. Kenneth Q. Carlile earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Baylor University in 1969 and a Doctor of Dental Surgery from Baylor College of Dentistry in 1973. As a young man, he worked for his father's oil company, Marshall Exploration, Inc. After practicing dentistry for several years, Dr. Carlile sold his practice and returned full time to the oil business. He went back to school to earn bachelor's and master's degrees in geology from Centenary College, then completed his doctorate in geology at Baylor in 1996.

Dr. Carlile is co-owner of The Carlile Companies, which consist of Martex Well Services, Inc.; Unitex Properties, L.L.P. and Camterra Resources, Inc. From 1977 to 1990, he served as co-owner of Marshall Exploration, Inc. and manager of the Exploration Program. In 1990, Marshall Exploration, Inc. merged with Southern Natural Gas (Sonat), then El Paso Gas. Currently, Dr. Carlile is co-owner of Camterra Resources, Inc., which operates in four states and the Gulf of Mexico.

Dr. Carlile, a life-time member of the Baylor Alumni Association, was selected as a Distinguished Alumnus in 2003 and received the W. R. White Meritorious Service Award in 2001. He has chaired the Baylor Foundation, Baylor University Development Council and the Sesquicentennial Campaign. He has served on the Baylor College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Board and the Geology Advisory Board. He was a member of the McLane Student Life Center Steering Committee.

Ken is married to the former Celia Choate. Baylor bestowed upon her the Alumna Honoris Causa Award in 1992. Celia serves in various community organizations. The Carliles are members of the First United Methodist Church of Marshall. Ken and Celia have two sons, Zachary, (Baylor '96) and daughter-in-law, Regan Marlar Carlile (Baylor '96) and Cameron, (Vanderbilt '99) and daughter-in-law Leslie Gasser Carlile (Vanderbilt '01), and grandchildren, Virginia, Kenneth Quinton, Hampton and Grant. The Carliles also would like to honor their grandparents, Annabel and James R. Cornelius, Ben and Mary B. Carlile, and parents, Quinton and Mildred Carlile and Cecil and Mabel Choate.

The Carliles are recipients of the Herbert H. Reynolds Award for Exemplary Service and the James Huckins and Pat Neff Medallions.

Baylor University is grateful to Ken and Celia Carlile for their steadfast support of science education. Through their abundant gifts generations of Baylor students and faculty will be challenged to advance scientific discoveries.