Bartell Field Camp Cabin

Dedicated in 2011, the Bartell Field Camp is home to both the Geology and Geophysics field courses at OU’s Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy. The camp is located on the northeastern edge of the Wet Mountains and overlooks the Cañon City Embayment, a structural reentrant in the Colorado Front Range. Snow‐covered Pikes Peak is visible to the north and the Great Plains to the east. The area is an ideal geological field laboratory – the Phanerozoic section and faults associated with the mountain front are beautifully exposed and available for study. Combined with the near‐perfect weather and proximity to a variety of outdoor activities and metropolitan Denver, it’s no wonder OU students have been coming here since 1950.

The Field Camp experience is a fond memory for many alumni, and one that we hope to pass on to future generations of students. The camp currently consists of a beautiful rustic log dining hall, a study hall, ten student cabins, two bathhouses, as well as faculty and staff cabins. Field camp is a required course for OU Geology and Geophysics students, and many students attend twice – first as part of Freshmen Field Camp, and immediately after graduation for their capstone course. In addition to OU students utilizing the camp, it also hosts other Universities. Last summer, The University of Colorado brought a group of 20 students to use the camp soon after we had over 40 OU students attend the required six-week course.

As we continue to grow as a college and make the camp available to other universities, it is important to think about our long term goals for the facility and address capacity considerations. Currently, the camp has 48 beds available to students which puts us nearly at capacity with our current enrollment size. In order to accommodate more students, we must expand the footprint of the camp by adding additional cabins. The goal for this campaign is to start the expansion process for the Bartell Field Camp through construction of at least one new cabin. 

This project will have a dollar-to-dollar matching gift on the total amount raised, in Memory of William E. Hendon Jr. Mr. Hendon was longtime Midland resident, who passed away on March 29th, 2016 following an extended battle with Alzheimer's. Bill was born in Greenville, MS, and grew up in Wichita Falls, TX. He attended the University of Oklahoma and married Kay Musgrave in 1957. Bill joined the Navy in 1958 and served in Jacksonville, FL. He and Kay returned to Texas to continue college, and he graduated with a degree in Geology from Texas Tech in 1963. Bill and Kay raised two children who are both OU graduates, DeLynn Hendon Woodside of Edmond, OK, and Dennis Hendon of Houston, TX. Their five grandchildren also attended OU. Bill's first job was in Washington, DC with the Federal Power Commission, but his love of the oil industry and their Texas roots brought him and his family to Midland in 1966. Bill worked for several oil field services firms and Union of California before becoming an independent in 1970. He had an exciting career as an independent, and had success throughout the Permian Basin. He is best known professionally for discovering the Powell field of the Permian Basin in 1981, when the Powell #1-32 well blew out unexpectedly in the Wolfcamp formation.  The Powell well was the largest wildcat discovery in Texas that year, and launched a small boom in the area as geologists raced to map the previously unknown formation. He was active in many industry organizations and served in leadership positions for SIPES, AAPG, TIPRO, and others. Because of Bill’s love of the industry, his son, Dennis Hendon, is honoring his father with this generous donation. All matches will be applied at the end of the campaign. Please join us in honoring Bill and the Hendon family by making an investment in the Bartell Field Camp and the many students it impacts each year.