STARKVILLE — Mississippi State University recognized 1983 petroleum engineering graduate Randy J. Cleveland of Fort Worth, Texas, as its national alumnus of the year during the April 29 MSU Alumni Association 2022 awards banquet.
“We are proud to salute Randy Cleveland on behalf of Mississippi State University for his success in industry and for his loyal lifelong connection with his alma mater,” said Jeff Davis, executive director of the MSU Alumni Association. “He is an excellent role model for current and future generations of the Bulldog family and is a distinguished selection for this honor.”
Newton County native Cleveland was a successful leader in the oil and gas industry for more than 35 years. He began his career with Exxon in 1984 in New Orleans, La., where he held a variety of technical and planning assignments for the Gulf of Mexico and Gulf Coast region. His progressive career positioned him at the helm of operations across the company, enabling him to lead at locations throughout the U.S. and abroad.
Following the merger of Exxon and Mobil in 1999, Cleveland held the role of operations manager for the company’s North Sea business in Aberdeen, Scotland. He later served in London, England, as joint interest manager for ExxonMobil’s Europe Region, overseeing the company’s largest production business unit in the world, before returning to Houston, Texas, to manage ExxonMobil Production Company’s U.S. portfolio.
After coordinating the merger of XTO Energy, Inc. into ExxonMobil Corporation in 2010, Cleveland became president of XTO headquartered in Fort Worth. He was named vice president Americas for ExxonMobil Production Company in 2016 and served in that role until his retirement in 2019.
Throughout his career, Cleveland has been an exemplary leader. He has served on over 30 various boards of directors for ExxonMobil subsidiaries and affiliates, as well as the Texas Oil and Gas Association executive board, America’s Exploration and Petroleum board, America’s Petroleum Institute Upstream committee and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation board. He was appointed by the Governor of Colorado as co-chair of an Oil and Gas Environmental task force.
Cleveland also has a strong history of support and service at MSU. He was instrumental in the 2014 reestablishment of the university’s petroleum engineering program. The following year, he and his wife Nina established an endowed professorship within the program to ensure its continued success. The couple have invested in areas across MSU and the Bagley College of Engineering, including an endowed scholarship and several other scholarships and funds supporting undergraduate research and other programs.
In 2020, the Clevelands expanded their support at MSU with a gift for the establishment of the Randy J. Cleveland Engineering Student Center. The gift enables a complete renovation of the former Materials Testing Laboratory to serve as a comprehensive, state-of-the-art student services center benefiting aspiring engineers in the Bagley College.
Beyond financial investments, Cleveland has dedicated his time and service as a member of the dean’s advisory council for the Bagley College and the MSU Foundation board of directors, where he leads the fundraising committee as chairman. He also serves as a mentor for students through the Bulldog Network platform and has served as a guest speaker on several occasions.
For his outstanding contributions, Cleveland was recognized as a Distinguished Engineering Fellow for the Bagley College of Engineering in 2008 and was named the college’s Alumnus of the Year in 2019. He also was recognized as the 2019 Alumnus of the Year for East Central Community College, where he completed pre-engineering studies before enrolling at MSU.
