BIOGRAPHY,
GEORGE P. MITCHELL
George
P. Mitchell is the former chairman and chief executive officer of
Mitchell Energy & Development Corp., a Fortune 500 Company,
which was listed on the New York Stock Exchange, prior to its merger
in January 2002 with Devon Energy Corporation. A native of Galveston,
Texas, Mr. Mitchell graduated from Texas A&M University with
a degree in petroleum engineering, with additional emphasis in geology.
Following
services as a captain in the Army Corps of Engineers during World
War II, he joined a newly formed wildcatting company, first as a
consulting geologist and engineer and later as a partner. He was
named president in 1959, and under his leadership the company grew
and evolved into one of the nation’s largest independent oil
and gas producers. During his career, Mr. Mitchell participated
in approximately 10,000 wells, including more then 1,000 wildcats.
He and his company found upwards of 200 oil and 350 gas discoveries.
In
the 1960’s, Mr. Mitchell envisioned a real estate project
on a scale never seen in the booming Houston area – a complete
new town. The Woodlands, a 25,000-acre planned community located
27 miles north of downtown Houston, opened in late 1974. When sold
in 1997 to the partnership of Crescent Real Estate Equities Co.
and Morgan Stanley Real Estate fund II, it had a population of 48,000,
led Houston’s market in new home sales for seven consecutive
years, and was the state’s new homes sales leader. Today the
acreage totals 27,000 and the population is 75,000.
Mr.
Mitchell was personally instrumental in the founding of the Houston
Advance Research Center (HARC), a contract and grant research institution
headquartered at The Woodlands’ Research Forest. HARC consists
of 10 collaborative universities, including the original members:
the University of Houston, Texas A&M University, Rice University,
and The University of Texas at Austin. He was also instrumental
in bringing to the Research Forest high-tech research and commercial
spin-offs of Baylor College of Medicine and The University of Texas
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and Health Science Center. He founded
the Center for Global Studies, a HARC educational institute that
sponsors conferences on environmental and growth issues and problems.
Mr.
Mitchell and his wife Cynthia have also taken leading roles in the
rejuvenation of Galveston’s historic Strand District by restoring
17 commercial buildings. In 1985, they revived the mid-winter Mardi
Gras celebration in Galveston, which now draws 500,000 visitors
annually.
Mr.
Mitchell was an advisor to Project Independence and a member of
the National Petroleum Council. He served three terms as president
and two terms as chairman of the Texas Independent Producers &
Royalty Owners Association. He is a member of the All-American Wildcatters,
American Association of Petroleum Geologists, and American Institute
of Mining Engineers, as well as numerous other professional, business,
educational, and civic organizations. Mr. Mitchell served as a member
of Texas’ Select Committee on Higher Education and the Texas
Governor’s Science and Technology Council. In 1988, he was
elected as a trustee of the University Research Association, a director
of the Gas Research Institute, and a member of the World Resources
Institute Council. In 1989, he was selected as a member of the President’s
Circle of the National Academy of Sciences.
Honors
accorded Mr. Mitchell include:
-
Texas A&M’s Distinguished Alumni Award (1977)
- the
medal for distinguished achievement from Texas A&M Geosciences
and Earth Resources Advisory Council (1980)
- the
Horatio Alger Award, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’
first Award for Distinguished Service in the Petroleum Industry
- and
an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Houston (1984)
- The
Galveston Daily News’ Citizen of the Year and the Ima Hogg
Historical Achievement Award (1988)
- Global
Tomorrow Coalition’s Lorax Award for contributions to the
environment (1989)
- Merrill
Lynch, Ernst & Young and Inc. Magazine’s Master Entrepreneur
of the Year (1992)
- the
Boy Scouts of America’s Hornaday Award for Environmental
Achievement (1993)
- Galveston’s
Leonora Kempner Thompson Community Enrichment Award (1993)
- the
American Institute of Architects’ Jefferson Award
- the
Texas Business Hall of Fame Award, the National Preservation Honor
Award
- the
Texas A&M’s Aggie of the Year (1994)
-
the Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation presented
to Mr. And Mrs. Mitchell by Governor George W. Bush (1995)
- the
Houston Chapter of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants’
honoree, and the Mirabeau B. Lamar Award (1996)
- The
Nature Conservancy of Texas’ Lifetime Achievement honoree
(1997)
- the
Texas Society of Architects’ first Cornerstone Award presented
to Mr. And Mrs. Mitchell
-
the Galveston Historical Foundation’s Spirit of Elissa Award
- and
the Galveston Chamber of Commerce’s Christie Mitchell Award
(1999)
- Prevent
Blindness Texas’ People of Vision Award presented to Mr.
and Mrs. Mitchell
- the
World Future Society’s Distinguished Service Award (2000)
- the
National Trust of Historic Preservation’s Crowninshield
Award presented to Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell
-
the Texas Society of Professional Engineers’ Engineering
Dream Team member
-
the Pioneer Oil Producers Society’s Distinguished Service
Award (2001)
- and
the Institute for Energy Law’s John Rogers Award (2002)
For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’
at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.
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