Texas Tech University

Scholarship News and History

Jay Parsley

Jay Parsley Field Camp Scholarship Established

Fall 2020

The family and friends of Lt Col. Joseph "Jay" Parsley (BS '85) have established an endowment in his memory to support students who attend Texas Tech Department of Geosciences Field Camp. Throughout Mr. Parsley's life he maintained fond memories of his TTU Field Camp held near Salida, New Mexico in 1984. He is pictured above mapping at field camp in the mountains of the American West.

Upon graduation Jay Parsley received an Air Force Commission of Second Lieutenant where he served for 7 years. When he separated from the Air Force he continued his service in the Missouri Air National Guard while he also pursued his career, ultimately achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Jay's ability to be a lifelong learner helped him build a career that started with the oil crash of the 1980's. While in the Air Force he installed early Geographic Information Systems and he was fortunate to take his love of geology and merge it with technology and data management skills as a Geoscientist. Jay found careers with SAIC, Schlumberger, Open Spirit and, finally his dream-job at Chevron. Along the way he earned his MS in Geography at the University of Nebraska.

Jay met his wife, Karen (TTU BBA FIN '84), at Texas Tech University and after dating for three years in college, they married and celebrated 33 years together. They have three children Kristen, Jennifer (TTU '13; '15), and Hayden and a granddaughter Piper. Jay was proud to see each of their children complete their university studies. Education was very important to Jay, instilled in him early by his parents who worked hard to put him through college. As this fund was being established, Jay's mother recalled having to dig deep to find the means to afford his field camp in 1984. This generous gift will help our students who are also piecing together the financial means to earn a college degree.