The $1 million chair, which marks the first ever created in the department in its 44-year history, was established by Mitchell, Texas A&M Class of 1940 and a distinguished petroleum engineering graduate, for the specific purpose of supporting the current dean of science in his efforts to advance programs within the college. In the case of subsequent honorees, funds generated by the chair will be used to further related programs in the department.

"Dr. H. Joseph Newton's appointment to the George P. Mitchell Chair '40 Endowed Chair in Statistics is undoubtedly an honor to the Department of Statistics, but also is a well deserved tribute to a phenomenal researcher, educator and administrator," Sheather said.

Newton, who joined the Texas A&M faculty in 1978, has served as dean of the College of Science and holder of the Richard H. Harrison III/External Advisory & Development Council Endowed Dean's Chair in Science since July 2002. Prior to that appointment, he spent two years as interim dean, two years as executive associate dean and eight years as head of the Department of Statistics.

"Being the inaugural holder of a chair named for Mr. Mitchell is, of course, a thrill of a lifetime," Newton said.

The chair is the latest in a series of gifts to support Texas A&M's continued scientific development made by Mitchell and his wife, Cynthia, who rank among the most financially supportive benefactors in the university's 130-year history. Their contributions to Texas A&M physics alone total nearly $48 million and include funds to establish 10 academic chairs and professorships, including seven that are affiliated with the George P. and Cynthia W. Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy.

"Joe Newton has been involved in much of the effort to build the prestige of the Department of Physics at Texas A&M," Mitchell said. "He has been a great coordinator."

A native of Syracuse, N.Y., Newton holds a doctorate in statistical sciences and a master of arts in statistics from the State University of New York (SUNY) in Buffalo. He earned his bachelor of science in mathematics from Niagara University.

Newton is the author of numerous research articles and two books in the areas of time series analysis, computational statistics and technology-mediated instruction. Elected a Fellow of the American Statistical Association in 1995, he currently serves as American co-editor of "Computational Statistics" and as editor of "The Stata Journal."

Contact: Shana K. Hutchins
(979) 862-1237
shutchins@science.tamu.edu