Engineer, businessman, volunteer, and philanthropist Jay Precourt, BS ’59, MS ’60, died on Sept. 16. He was 87.

Precourt provided the lead gift to establish the Precourt Institute for Energy at Stanford. Over many decades he also generously supported faculty, students, and research across the university and at the Hoover Institution, where he served as a longtime member of the Board of Overseers. A tireless volunteer and advisor to entities throughout Stanford, in 1991 Precourt was awarded the Stanford Associates Centennial Medallion for his service to the university.

Precourt remained closely involved in the mission of the Precourt Institute to ensure sustainable, affordable, and secure energy for all, and he steadfastly championed the collaboration, learning, and leadership needed for the global energy transformation. He co-founded an annual conference that evolved into the Global Energy Forum, which brought together senior government officials and leading experts from industry and academia at Stanford in 2018 and 2022, involving about 500 participants each time.

At a gathering marking his departure from the institute’s volunteer Advisory Council earlier this year, Precourt said, “It's time for me to go swimming on the beach and stop traveling and take things easy. I don’t have any difficulty taking my nap in the afternoon and falling asleep at night because I know that the Precourt Institute is in very good hands.”

“Jay Precourt’s loss will be deeply felt across campus by leadership, faculty, staff, and classmates alike,” said John L. Hennessy, who was president at the time that Precourt made his naming gift for the institute and is now the Shriram Family Director of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program. “Jay evolved from his successful career in the energy business to become one of the leading advocates and philanthropists dedicated to finding sustainable energy solutions for our country and the world.”

From energy entrepreneur to philanthropist

Jay Anthony Precourt was born in Chicago in 1937 and lived there until age 16 when he moved to Massachusetts to attend the Phillips Academy at Andover.

He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in petroleum engineering at Stanford, and then obtained an MBA at Harvard. In the early 1970s, Precourt moved to Denver and began working at the Hamilton Oil Company, which he said became successful “by innovating and being very, very creative.”

He went on to launch several energy companies and assist others that were struggling. He served as president and/or CEO of Hamilton Oil Company, Tejas Gas Corporation, and ScissorTail Energy.

With his intimate knowledge of the energy economy, Precourt grew increasingly concerned about the national security implications of U.S. dependence on energy imports. In 2006, he established the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center (PEEC) at Stanford to study and develop policies, market structures, and technologies to contribute to more efficient energy use. 

“Understanding and learning to more effectively manage energy consumption at the individual, corporate, and government level is critical to our national security, our environment, and our economy,” Precourt said at the time.

Yet Stanford’s energy-related teaching and research remained distributed across multiple departments and schools, with few incentives or structures to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration. Precourt’s lead gift for the Precourt Institute for Energy in 2009 was motivated by a sense of urgency around establishing a central hub dedicated to the study of energy and energy sector innovation at Stanford. The new institute encompassed PEEC as well as the previously existing Global Climate & Energy Project.

Now part of the new Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, the Precourt Institute for Energy plays a key role in connecting the school with Stanford’s other six schools for interdisciplinary research and education.

“Jay has been an inspiration to me and many others in our community,” said Arun Majumdar, who is the Jay Precourt Professor and Chester Naramore Dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. “His steadfast support of energy innovations, his emphasis on energy education and understanding the scale of energy, and his ability to convene and elevate our Stanford community will be dearly missed. On a personal level, I will miss his grace, humor, friendship, and generosity. Our deepest condolences to his family.”

To propel the work of the institute, Precourt created 12 funds for specific areas such as sustainability curriculum, energy efficiency, sustainable energy research, undergraduate scholarships, and faculty. In addition, he and his family endowed the professorship held by Majumdar and the Precourt Family Professorship, held by Sally Benson. Precourt was also a key contributor to the Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building, Stanford’s first large-scale, high-performance building in which the Precourt Institute is colocated with other sustainability focused departments and institutes.

“Jay was an inspiration for me,” said Benson. “His strategic and steadfast advice about decarbonizing the global energy system was invaluable, and I am so honored to be the Precourt Family Professor.”

Since its founding 15 years ago, the Precourt Institute has been advancing transformative research and engaging energy sector stakeholders around the world. It has launched research initiatives focused on natural gas, modernizing the electric grid, energy storage, sustainable finance, and hydrogen. The institute funds around $20 million in energy research annually and contributes significantly to Stanford’s educational mission, sponsoring several courses and founding a program to help students navigate energy education and careers, which led to the Explore Energy House.

“Jay’s impact is immeasurable,” said William Chueh, the recently appointed director and senior fellow at the Precourt Institute of Energy, as well as the first faculty hire of the institute in 2010. “Jay changed the mindset of countless people. His vision and foresight established Stanford as a leader in the energy transition and catapulted people around the world to roll up their sleeves. All of us at the Precourt Institute will ensure that Jay’s impact continues to grow through our work.”

In addition to his longtime chairmanship of the Global Energy Forum’s advisory committee and the Precourt Institute Advisory Council, Precourt served on the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment Advisory Council and the Hoover Institution Board of Overseers, where he served on the finance and executive committees. He previously served as a member of the Sustainability Volunteer Task Force, The Stanford Challenge Leadership Council, the National Centennial Celebration, the major gifts committee of the Centennial Campaign, and as chair of the reunion campaign committees of his 40th, 45th, and 50th reunions.

His gifts to Stanford included support for undergraduate scholarships and The Stanford Fund for Undergraduate Education; at the Hoover Institution, he was one of the lead donors to the George P. Shultz Building and one of the first to support the Hoover Civics Initiative.

Condoleezza Rice, who is the Tad and Dianne Taube Director of Hoover, said Precourt was “instrumental” in bringing the institution to where it is today.

"The Hoover Institution community is heartbroken to learn of Jay Precourt’s passing,” Rice said. “Jay cared deeply about doing all he could to support the things he believed in, and his legacy will live on through his acts of kindness and generosity. He was a dear friend to so many here at Hoover, and we will miss him deeply.”

Precourt is survived by his wife, Molly; children Amanda Precourt, ’96, and J. Anthony Precourt, Jr.; daughter-in-law Agatha Matosek Precourt, ’95, MBA ’02; and grandchildren Luke, Alexandra, and Charlie.