Allan Markin

Chairman of the Board - Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.

Markin and his partner at CNRL, Murray Edwards, are responsible for building one of Canada's largest oil and natural gas producing companies, said University of Alberta President Dr. Rod Fraser.

"[Markin's] strong commitment to his community and a vision to build a better world is embodied through his continuing philanthropy and personal support of community organizations in the province," Fraser added.

When he became chairman of CNRL in 1989, the company was struggling and had only six employees. Now, the company's current revenues exceed $3 billion annually.

Markin, who graduated from the U of A in the late sixties with a degree in chemical engineering, has received numerous awards for his business savvy and philanthropy, including the Alberta Pinnacle Award of Business and the Oilweek Producer of the Year. For several years, he has been a recipient of the Wall Street Journal Gold Award for outstanding achievement among Canadian Oil Producers.

Philanthropically, Markin helped to establish a distinguished writers program and the development of a sports medicine facility at the University of Calgary. As well, he is one of the principal supporters of the foundation and development of Calgary's Saint Mary's College. This past December, Markin and CNRL jointly committed to providing $6 million to the U of A to support the construction of the $65 million Natural Resources Engineering Facility, a research building that will focus on resources development.

"When I graduated thirty years ago, it would have seemed remote--implausible--to know that I would be here today. And now, imagine how wonderful it would be if each of you was standing here in thirty years to receive your own honorary degrees," Markin said in his address Tuesday afternoon to the U of A's 2002 graduating class of engineering, medicine and dentistry students.

"Certainly, I had no idea that the road I was about to follow after I graduated would lead me back to this place today," he said. "And I could not have predicted then all the challenges, problems, heartaches and joys that I would experience as I traveled that road."