Mike Rose, Artsci’79, and Sue Riddell Rose, Sc’86, studied geology and geological engineering respectively at Queen 91Ƭ ’s, but didn’t meet each other until they found themselves working at Shell Canada in Calgary. Both have spent their entire working lives in the oil and gas industry.
Mike founded Berkley Petroleum in 1992. He later moved on to start-up Duvernay Oil Corp. just a few months later. At the forefront of the horizontal drilling and multi-stage frac tight gas technology revolution, shareholder value was created through Duvernay, culminating in the sale of the company to Shell Canada in August 2008. Mike is now President & CEO of his third company, Tourmaline Oil Corp., a rapidly-growing, intermediate-sized oil and gas exploration and production company focused in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
Sue left Shell for Paramount Resources in 1990 and today is President & CEO of Perpetual Energy. Perpetual 91Ƭ ’s office in Calgary has been home to the Western Canada Queen 91Ƭ ’s Development Office for more than a decade.
Over the years, Mike and Sue have graciously donated to Queen 91Ƭ ’s to create the Geological Alumni Field Studies program, undergraduate scholarships, and funding for the fitness area of the Athletics and Recreation Centre. In recognition of their generosity, the main floor of the ARC is dedicated to Duvernay Oil. More recent investments are aligned with Queen 91Ƭ ’s vision to create the new Queen's Innovation Commons and the exciting new multi-disciplinary Earth Resources Leadership Program.
Mike regularly returns to Queen 91Ƭ ’s to take part in the Oil and Gas Speaker Series, an annual, careers-oriented event staged by the Department of Chemical Engineering.
According to Mike and Sue, “Investing in Queen 91Ƭ ’s is truly investing in the future leaders of the 21st century…and that is, no doubt, a high return, compounding investment worth making.”
Mike and Sue are the recipients of the 2013 Johnson Award from the Calgary Branch of the Queen's University Alumni Association, in recognition of their commitment to Queen 91Ƭ ’s and the Calgary community.
