Colorado School of Mines will celebrate 2025 Midyear Commencement with two ceremonies on Dec. 19.
Undergraduate Commencement will kick off the day of festivities at 9 a.m. in Lockridge Arena. Graduate Commencement will follow at 2 p.m.
Continuing the tradition started with the university’s sesquicentennial in 2024, many graduates will don a special hat with their graduation regalia: the Mines Hat, a distinctive hat that dates back to the 19th century as a recognizable symbol of engineers working in the mines and an expression of pride for Mines graduates.
Tickets are required to attend Undergraduate and Graduate Commencement for anyone over the age of two. Both ceremonies will be live streamed on the Mines’ YouTube channel.
Giving the keynote address at Undergraduate Commencement will be Colorado School of Mines Trustee David C. Lawler ‘90, CEO of Caturus, an integrated gas and LNG company.
Lawler has more than 34 years of experience in the energy sector, previously serving as CEO of Kimmeridge Texas Gas and director of Commonwealth LNG. Prior to joining Kimmeridge Texas Gas, Lawler served as Chairman and President of BP America from 2020 to 2023. As the chief representative in the United States, Lawler led the collective efforts of BP’s businesses, representing 30,000 employees and capital deployed of $150+ billion since 2005. This role included the formation and implementation of the integrated US strategy to achieve net zero by 2050 in collaboration with the U.S. Leadership Team, along with the oversight of the resilient hydrocarbons, convenience and mobility, and low carbon energy business units.
In addition to his role as Chairman and President of BP America, Lawler also served as CEO of BPX Energy, BP’s onshore unconventional and midstream business from 2014 to 2023. In 2018, Lawler led the $10.5 billion acquisition of BHP’s onshore assets, the largest acquisition for BP in more than 20 years.
Lawler joined BPX in 2014 from SandRidge Energy, a US-based oil and gas independent, where he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for three years. For four years prior to SandRidge, Lawler was CEO and President of PostRock Energy Corporation and its predecessor entities. Prior to PostRock, he worked for Shell E&P Company for 10 years in leadership and technical assignments within the deepwater and gulf coast business units and provided business planning and support to the CEO of Shell Americas. Lawler began his career as a Production Engineer with Conoco and as a Drilling Engineer with Burlington Resources.
A Denver native, Lawler graduated from Mines with a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering in 1990 before earning an MBA from Tulane University in 2003. He was appointed to the Colorado School of Mines Board of Trustees in 2022 by Colorado Governor Jared Polis. Lawler is also a Director of the American Petroleum Institute and served on the Executive Committee from 2020-2023.
About Mines
Colorado School of Mines is a public R1 research university focused on applied science and engineering, producing the talent, knowledge and innovations to serve industry and benefit society – all to create a more prosperous future.
