User:Doreenamini/Elizabeth “Betsy” Bartow Campen

Elizabeth Bartow Campen, known to friends and family as ‘Betsy’ was born in 1936 in Massachusetts. She lived a relatively active life until she passed away in her home in South Carolina on June 24, 2022. Campen could always be found engaging in physical and mental activity and took a particular interest in educating about the oil and gas industry.

Personal life
While Campen carried out her education at Smith College, she lived on campus with roughly 70 other students in the Gillet House. Campen recalled her time at Smith fondly, noting that she became acquainted with many good friends and lived her life to the fullest. Following her professors’ claims that she had no future in the oil business, and being a woman, she took on a second ambition– to move west and indulge in the great outdoors, along with ranching and family life. After marrying Paul, the two moved to Montana where they became farmers and operated their homestead for the next 17 years. Elizabeth and Paul had 3 kids together who grew up on the ranch; a set of twin boys named Chris and Gordy and a daughter named Wendy. The ranch provided Betsy with many diverse methods of entertainment for her children, utilizing her knowledge of the rocks and strata within their ranch to her advantage. By the time the kids had grown up and left the house, Campen divorced Paul and moved to Billings, Montana. Finally being on her own, she pursued admittance to a career she had longed for, a career in geology. Betsy was ambitious and determined, and eventually made her way into petroleum exploration. As she achieved this during a time when women were rarely permitted in the industry, this proved her perseverance. Once given this opportunity, she skillfully chose mentors and developed a particular interest in prospecting for oil and gas.

Attaining a membership within the [https://mtgeo.org/#:~:text=The%20Montana%20Geological%20Society%20is,group%20of%20Billings%2Darea%20geoscientists. Montana Geological Society] (MGS), her admission was another impressive accomplishment of hers, as she was the only woman in the group at the time of her admittance. Her time within the MGS exposed her to many new possibilities, including friendships, professional growth opportunities, networking, and a diversity of social activities. Betsy was determined to pay forward all the help she received within the MGS, thus resulting in her participation in various committees. Another result of her notorious ambition included landing a position within the society as an officer, which she then worked her way up to ultimately landing the position of president.

She later married petroleum engineer Ted Campen. Combining their knowledge of geology and engineering tactics, they pursued launching their own exploration company following his retirement from Schlumberger. Combining their skills permitted their further success in developing a large coal-bed methane play in Montana. This was a particularly significant accomplishment as it was achieved during a period of great demand for coal fuel.

Education
Campen attended Winsor School, a private girls’ school in Boston. She then attended the all-girls college, Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Campen chose to major in Geology, due to her love of mountains and graduated in 1958 with an undergraduate degree in Geology. After having gone through four years of college, Campen made the decision not to attend graduate school because of a comment made by her academic advisor, informing her that women did not typically obtain employment in the field of geology. Upon the start of her employment as a geotech, Campen took part in studying additional required classes, and expressed enjoyment in being intellectually stimulated, even following her graduation.

Work and Achievements in Geology and Science
Campen was known for her involvement in initiatives for youth in science in addition to chairing section meetings. She dedicated much of her time to committees such as the Youth Activities Public Outreach and the GeoTours. From 2008-2009 she was the chair of the Energy Minerals Division (EMD) and she was on the EMD executive committee for 4 years. During this time she received their Distinguished Service Award in 1997. In the same year, she became the secretary of the association and served on the Executive Committee for 2 years. In addition to serving on the EMD, she also served on the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), Advisory Council from 2001-2003 wherein she received the AAPG Distinguished Service Award in 2001. She went on to become an honorary member of the AAPG in 2009. In 1989, she served as president of the Rocky Mountain Section of the AAPG. She contributed an article to the book Hydrocarbon Exploration Techniques in the Greybull Sandstone, Northern Bighorn Basin: in Geology of the Beartooth Uplift and adjacent basin. Additionally, she was an active member of the Yellowstone Bighorn Research Association wherein she was awarded the Robert J. Weimer Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.