George P. Mitchell Statue

Texas A&M University at Galveston exists due, in large part, to the generosity and philanthropy of native Galvestonian and Aggie George P. Mitchell, '40. In 1968 Mr. Mitchell donated the land upon which the campus sits and was a life-long supporter of the campus. Mr. Mitchel was an early pioneer in the extraction of shale gas by hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling and built Mitchell Energy into a successful producer of natural gas and oil. Mr. Mitchell developed The Woodlands community, north of Houston, and was the prime force behind the revitalization of Galveston in the 1980s. This bronze statue, which will eventually sit at the entrance to the campus in front of the new Academic Complex, was sculpted and cast by Jay Hester, a painter and sculptor living in Boerne, Texas. Mr Hester's sculptures grace The Woodlands,Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi and the Markt Platz in Fredericksburg. Mr. Hester's passion for Western culture is evident in his word as a Native American and Western artist. Hist ability to capture the rustic beauty and depth of the people and places that define the American West has gained him many honors and awards at national juried exhibitions. The new Academic Complex will include new classrooms, laboratories and lecture halls and will be the "front door" of the Texas A&M University at Galveston campus. It is a fitting tribute to Mr. Mitchell that his statue will greet students, faculty, staff and visitors to the campus he helped establish.