| Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation supports Alzheimer's research Baylor College of Medicine is privileged to count Cynthia and George Mitchell among its most generous supporters. Over the years, Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell's gifts to Baylor – which include personal contributions, gifts from The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation, and donations from Mr. Mitchell's former company, Mitchell Energy & Development Corp.– have amounted to $7.5 million. The couple's support continues to benefit several Baylor initiatives including The Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders Center, The Huffington Center on Aging, The Maria and Alando Ballantyne Atherosclerosis Laboratory, and prostate cancer research in the Scott Department of Urology. Texas businessman George P. Mitchell is well respected for his expertise and success in the oil, natural gas, and commercial real estate industries. Mr. Mitchell developed The Woodlands, Texas, a master-planned community north of Houston that today is home to 80,000 residents. A native of Galveston, he and his wife, Cynthia Woods Mitchell, also have invested significant time and financial resources to numerous preservation, restoration, and development projects in their hometowns of Galveston and Houston. The Mitchells have been married for 61 years and have 10 children and a host of grandchildren. When describing his wife, Mr. Mitchell uses words like "brilliant," "dynamic," and "exceptional." His generosity to philanthropic causes and his interest in medical care and research, reflect his devotion to her. In 2001, Mrs. Mitchell was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. That same year, the Mitchells committed their first gift of $1 million to stimulate research in the prevention and cure of Alzheimer's disease. Part of the gift supported the work of Mrs. Mitchell's physicians, Robert J. Luchi, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Founding Director of BCM's Huffington Center on Aging, and Rachelle Doody, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Neurology and Director of Baylor's Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders Center. In 2002, Mr. Mitchell also pledged $250,000 to establish the Robert J. Luchi Chair in Clinical Geriatrics in the Huffington Center. Since that time the Mitchells have committed an additional $3.6 million to recruit another faculty member to the Alzheimer's team and to establish the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Endowed Research Fund in Alzheimer's Disease, which will facilitate the development of new therapies. "Alzheimer's is a terrible disease that is difficult to accept, especially when it strikes someone who is so brilliant and dynamic," said Mr. Mitchell. "It's very difficult to see my wife losing her memory. If science could just find something to stop the memory loss, it would help tremendously." Dedicated to helping researchers do just that, Mr. Mitchell feels strongly that major developments in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease are on the horizon, and he encourages others to help. "Alzheimer's is something that affects just about every family at one time or another," he notes. "I'm hopeful that more people will begin to realize how important it is to find a cure for this disease very soon." In addition to their support of Alzheimer's disease research, the Mitchells also have funded a $2 million endowment in the Artherosclerosis Laboratory to support advanced research on novel biomarkers for atherosclerosis, a hardening of the arteries that often occurs as people grow older. Once a patient of BCM physicians himself, Mr. Mitchell successfully battled cancer in the 1990s and has been in remission for eight years. "I believe you have to do the best you can to take care of your health in order to have a normal life," he said. "We are so fortunate to live in Houston, where we have access to the best medical institutions and doctors in the world." Houston – and BCM – are so fortunate to have the generous support and partnership of philanthropists like the Mitchells. Back to Donor Stories
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