If you're asking about where "Halliburton" went to college, you're usually looking for one of two men. You either want to know about Erle P. Halliburton, the grit-and-grind founder who built an empire from a borrowed mule, or you're thinking of Dick Cheney, the former Vice President who ran the company during its most controversial era.
The answer for the founder? He didn't go. Not a day.
The answer for the CEO? He went to three different schools, got kicked out of the Ivy League twice, and eventually found his footing in the West.
It's a weirdly split legacy. One man built a global giant with zero formal education, while the other navigated the highest halls of academia and power to lead that same giant decades later. Here is the actual breakdown of the education (or lack thereof) behind the Halliburton name.
Erle P. Halliburton: The Founder With No Degree
Let’s get the founder out of the way first. Erle Palmer Halliburton is the classic "bootstraps" story, though it started with more tragedy than most. Born in 1892 on a farm in Henning, Tennessee, Erle had big plans. But life got in the way fast.
His father died when Erle was just 12 years old. By 14, he had to drop out of school in Ripley, Tennessee, to support his mom and five siblings. There was no money for books, let alone tuition. Instead of a dorm room, he lived in railroad construction camps. Instead of a professor, he had a steam crane operator teaching him how to load barges on the Mississippi River.
The Navy "University"
While he never stepped foot on a college campus, Erle did get a technical education. In 1910, he joined the U.S. Navy. This is where the magic happened. He wasn't just scrubbing decks; he was taking specialized courses in engineering and hydraulics.
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Think about that for a second. The man who would revolutionize how we extract oil from the earth learned his trade in the belly of a ship, not a lecture hall. When he was discharged in 1918, he didn't have a diploma, but he had a set of skills that the oil industry desperately needed.
Fired Into Success
He took those Navy skills to the Perkins Oil Well Cementing Company in California. He was a natural, but he was also a "know-it-all." He kept suggesting ways to improve the tech, and his boss eventually got tired of the upstart and fired him. Erle reportedly told him, "Someday, I'll come back and buy you out."
He did exactly that in 1940. By then, his "New Method Oil Well Cementing Company" was a behemoth. He proved that in the early 20th century, a Navy engineering course and a whole lot of spite were worth more than a Harvard MBA.
Dick Cheney: The CEO Who Struggled With Yale
Now, if you’re asking about the most famous person to ever lead the company, you’re talking about Dick Cheney. His college journey was... messy. Honestly, it's the kind of academic history that would make a modern recruiter sweat.
The Yale Collapse
Cheney grew up in Casper, Wyoming, and was a star. He was a football player, class president, and a straight-A student. He landed a full scholarship to Yale University in 1959.
It didn't stick.
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Cheney has been very open about the fact that he hated the "elitist" atmosphere of the Ivy League. His grades tanked. He lost his scholarship. He dropped out, went home to Wyoming to work as a power-line worker, tried Yale one more time, and dropped out again.
Finding the "Cowboy" Connection at Wyoming
After a couple of DUIs and a stint as a "lineman" (the guys who climb the poles to fix power lines), Cheney realized he needed to get his act together. He started over at Casper College, a local community college, before transferring to the University of Wyoming.
This was the turning point. Away from the pressure of New Haven, he thrived in Laramie.
- Bachelor of Arts (1965): Political Science.
- Master of Arts (1966): Political Science.
He eventually started a PhD program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but he never finished his dissertation. He left for a congressional fellowship in D.C. and never looked back. So, while he’s often associated with the elite, his only actual degrees come from the University of Wyoming.
Halliburton: Where Did Halliburton Go to College (The Leaders)
If you look at the current leadership and the board, the "no college" era of Erle Halliburton is long gone. The company today is run by a roster of high-level academics.
The current CEO, Jeff Miller, is a prime example. He didn't take the Ivy League route either, which seems to be a trend for this company. He went to McNeese State University for his undergrad in agriculture and business, then grabbed an MBA from Texas A&M.
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Here is where some other key figures in the Halliburton orbit went to school:
- David Lesar (Former CEO): University of Wisconsin-Madison (BS and MBA).
- Eric Carre (CFO): Université Libre de Bruxelles (Engineering) and University of Wisconsin-Madison (MBA).
- Van Beckwith (Chief Legal Officer): University of Texas at Austin and SMU for his JD.
Why This Matters for You
You might be wondering why any of this matters. Well, it tells a story about the "Halliburton Way." It’s a company that has historically valued technical skill and grit over prestige.
Erle Halliburton didn't care about a degree; he cared if the cement held. Dick Cheney didn't fit in at Yale, but he knew how to navigate the practical politics of Wyoming and the Pentagon. Even current CEO Jeff Miller comes from a "non-target" school background compared to the Wall Street crowd.
If you’re looking to follow in these footsteps, here are the actionable takeaways:
- Technical over Theoretical: If you want to work at a place like Halliburton, degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, or Geoscience from state schools like Texas A&M, LSU, or Oklahoma are often valued just as highly (if not more) than Ivy League degrees.
- The "Pivot" is Real: Dick Cheney’s story proves that failing out of a "top" school isn't the end. Sometimes a change of scenery—like moving from Yale to a state school—is what’s needed to actually graduate.
- Certification Matters: For business roles, the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) designation is a recurring theme among Halliburton’s top brass.
Essentially, "Halliburton" didn't go to college to start the company, but the people who run it now sure did. They just didn't necessarily go to the schools you'd expect.
Quick Fact Check: If you see "Erle P. Halliburton - Harvard Business School" in search results, don't be fooled. That is usually a reference to a case study or a historical profile written by the school, not a degree he earned. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1957, but he never wore a cap and gown.
Next time someone asks where did Halliburton go to college, you can tell them the founder was a Navy man and the most famous CEO was a Yale dropout who found his way in Wyoming. It's a lot more interesting than a standard diploma story.