Energy Secretary to take over Hamm Energy Institute

a few people standing at a podium

 

Nearly six months after Oklahoma oilman Harold Hamm’s contribution led to the creation of Oklahoma State University’s Hamm Institute for American Energy, Oklahoma Secretary of Energy Kenneth Wagner has been named as the inaugural executive director.

 

“Ken’s experience and deep knowledge of the energy industry will serve the Institute well as it lives out its mission to educate the next generation of energy leaders and position Oklahoma as a global energy leader,” OSU President Kayse Shrum said in a statement reported the Journal Record.

“With the current state of energy globally, there has never been a more important time for the Hamm Institute than now,” said Wagner. “I am grateful to President Shrum and Mr. Hamm for trusting me to step into this role and am ready to hit the ground running.”

Wagner has been Oklahoma’s Energy Secretary since being appointed in 2019 by Gov. Kevin Stitt. He previously spent more than two decades in a law firm he founded that focused on corporate, energy and environmental cases. Wagner was also a senior adviser to the administrator of regional and state affairs at the Environmental Protection Agency.

It was in December of last year when the Harold Hamm Foundation and continental Resources, the company he founded, established the Energy Institute located in Oklahoma City.

 

“Ken’s knowledge of the industry and Oklahoma’s energy landscape makes him the perfect fit to work with energy leaders from around the world and help live out the Institute’s mission,” Institute Founder and Continental Resources Chairman Harold Hamm said. “I am confident with Ken’s leadership the Hamm Institute will be recognized as the global leader for all things energy. The Hamm Institute will be a place where the best and brightest come together to responsibly solve the world’s energy needs.”

 

Source: Journal Record