It is a historic moment – nationally and globally – with the impact of tariffs, and the recently retired president and CEO of Devon Energy implored University of Tulsa faculty on Wednesday not to let the time slip by without robust discussion on the topic in the classroom.
Rick Muncrief told a capacity crowd of UTulsa alumni, faculty, and students, as well as local business leaders, that it’s imperative to hear all sides of the argument.
“It is a fascinating time,” he said. “Don’t miss out on the opportunity to discuss this with your students. Debate it. Have some points, counterpoints. I think it’s great. That’s what universities are for.”
Muncrief was the keynote speaker during the last Friends of Finance luncheon for the 2024-25 academic year. UTulsa’s Collins College of Business hosts the monthly event, which features candid conversations with C-suite executives.
Muncrief said he was among business leaders who recently met with President Donald Trump and cabinet members. During that two-hour meeting, Muncrief and others were privy to things people don’t often read about. For example, he took notice of their body language.
“There are some things that are being discussed right now around tariffs, implications of tariffs. This is truly a historical moment, and so let’s just make sure that in your classes, you have the richness of the discussions of this time that we’re living in,” he said. “Who knows how it’s going to play out, how long it’s going to last.”
Muncrief retired last month from the Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy, which is engaged in oil and gas exploration and production. He said the merger between Devon and WPX in 2021 was “pretty well accepted” in the market.
“I would say that Devon was in a pristine position from a balance sheet standpoint prior to the merger,” he said. “I think it’s an important part of the story. WPX also was in pretty good shape, but Devon was in pristine shape.”
Like many others, Muncrief is thinking about how technology will change his industry. He said he’s also interested in how artificial intelligence will affect the health care field.
“I get excited about health care and what we can do around disease prevention, therapeutic development, all sorts of things we can do there with AI,” he said. “So, we’ll see how that plays out.”
The Friends of Finance luncheons, which fund scholarships for UTulsa business students, will resume in the fall for the 2025-26 school year. Two speakers for next season were announced Wednesday: Kevin Sabin, chairman and CEO of Arvest Bank, and Ken Parks, CFO of GE Vernova.