Robert Stephen Molina, Director of the Master’s in Energy Management Program and a senior lecturer in the Finance and Managerial Economics Area at the Naveen Jindal School of Management, died unexpectedly April 2, 2023. He was 75.

Molina joined the Jindal School faculty January 2016 and became director of the MS Energy program in fall 2017.

Dr. Monica Powell, senior associate dean and graduate dean at the Jindal School, said that students in Molina’s courses benefited tremendously from his four-decade background in oil and gas law.

“Steve did an amazing job,” she said. “He inspired his students and helped them engage with the oil and gas industry throughout Texas.”

Dr. Hasan Pirkul, Caruth Chair and Jindal School Dean, said that Molina was adored by his students.

“Steve enjoyed both the technical and legal aspects of energy management and found a way to enrich his courses with stories from his vast lifetime experience,” he said. “He will be missed by his students and his colleagues at the Jindal School.”

Tom Henderson, an associate professor in the Organizations, Strategy and International Management Area and director of the BS Business Administration program at the Jindal School, said he was saddened by the unexpected loss of Molina.

“I worked closely with Steve on the Energy Management concentration as part of the BSBA program,” he said. “As others have pointed out, Steve was a great guy. He had so many interesting stories about the renewable and non-renewable energy markets here in Texas. Steve was a wealth of knowledge and someone who possessed deep subject matter expertise across so many facets of the energy markets. I learned so much from him and will miss our frequent conversations across a wide range of topics.”

Before he entered academia, Molina had a long and distinguished law career focusing on domestic and international oil and gas, energy, construction fields, specializing in litigation and project finance. In December 2005, Texas Governor Rick Perry appointed him to the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, where he served for 17 years, including as chairman. He was on the boards of the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce and the Mexican Energy Reform Committee.

Molina is survived by his wife of 53 years, Susan; his daughter, Kay Molina; his sons and daughters-in-law, Tim and Linda Molina and Jeff and Valerie Molina; and his grandson, Miller Molina.