Cleveland honored as MSU’s National Alumnus of the Year

Published 12:01 pm Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Mississippi State University is honoring Randy J. Cleveland with its highest alumni honor. In a campus ceremony on April 29, the longtime Fort Worth, Texas, resident will be recognized formally as the university’s 2022 National Alumnus.

A 1983 petroleum engineering graduate and 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, Louisiana, 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 in Aberdeen, Scotland, and later served in London, England, as the joint interest manager for the U.K. and the Netherlands, before returning to Houston, Texas, to manage the company’s U.S. production business. After coordinating the merger of XTO Energy, Inc. into ExxonMobil Corp. in 2010, he became president of XTO headquartered in Fort Worth. He was named Vice President Americas for ExxonMobil Production Co. in 2016 and served in that role until his retirement in 2019.

At MSU, Cleveland has a strong history of support and service. He is a member of the MSU Foundation board of directors, where he leads the fundraising committee as chairman, and also serves on the dean’s advisory council for the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering. He earlier was recognized as the Bagley College Alumnus of the Year in 2019 and as one of the college’s Distinguished Engineering Fellows in 2008.

“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. He is an excellent role model for current and future generations of the Bulldog family, and his outstanding professional and personal achievements serve as a primary example of the success MSU inspires each of its graduates to attain,” said Jeff Davis, executive director of the MSU Alumni Association. “Of more than 155,000 living alumni, Randy is a distinguished selection for this honor.”

Along with Cleveland, a host of other outstanding alumni will be recognized by the MSU Alumni Association at the annual awards event.