friends and supporters
Cynthia and George Mitchell
Foundation Gift Funds
SBC Foundation Gift Dark Energy Research and
Supports College A stronomy Education
Environmental and
Well-known Texas philanthropists George and Cynthia Mitchell have generously
Education Programs
donated $750,000 for cosmology research and public education at the McDonald
Observatory.
The SBC Foundation generously pledged
A large portion of the Mitchell’s gift will be used for the Hobby-Eberly Telescope
$1 million to The University of Texas, with
Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX). Though dark energy makes up about 70 percent
$225,000 designated to the College of Natu-
of the matter-energy content of the universe, not much is known about this mysteri-
ral Sciences. Through 2008, SBC will provide
ous, newly discovered force. The goal of HETDEX is to provide the first fundamental
funding for the UTeach internship pro-
observational constraints on dark energy. It will be the largest galaxy survey ever
gram, the Environmental Science Institute’s
undertaken.
Outreach Lecture Series, Texas Memorial
“We are now out of the starting blocks for a most exciting race to define dark en-
Museum’s “Virtual Science” exhibit, and the
ergy,” says Dr. David Lambert, director of McDonald Observatory. “May the Hobby-
Dana Center’s Web-based math toolkit for
Eberly Telescope win.”
teachers. The SBC Foundation focuses on
The remaining portion of the Mitchell’s donation will be used to create the Cyn-
strengthening math, science and engineering
thia and George Mitchell Foundation Education Endowment. Beneficiaries will
education and promoting the use of technol-
be designated “The Mitchell Scholars.” The endowment will help fund McDonald
ogy in teaching and learning. ✥
Observatory’s programs for K-12 student field experiences, K-12 teacher profession-
al/development workshops, and distance education efforts. ✥

More information on HETDEX is available online: www.as.utexas.edu/hetdex/
To learn more about the Mitchell Scholars Program, contact Marc Wetzel at 432 426 3672 or
wetzel@astro.as.utexas.edu.
UTeach uteach.utexas.edu/index.cfm ESI www.esi.utexas.edu TMM www.utexas.edu/tmm
Michael and Susan Dell
Foundation Gift Helps First-Time
Science Teachers
A grant from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation
has made possible the UTeach | Dell Center for New
Teacher Success. The Dell Center for New Teacher
Success provides mentoring for first-time teachers of
science, mathematics and computer sciences. These
teachers have a high turnover rate—nearly 31 percent
leave the profession within their first three years of
teaching. The Dell Center provides support for a team
of Master Teachers to visit classrooms to give new
teachers guidance and resources. The center aims
to increase new teacher retention, transform novice
teachers into experts, and increase student achieve-
ment scores in science and mathematics. ✥
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