History
The Mitchell Center was formed in late 2003 with a gift from George Mitchell in honor of his wife, Cynthia Woods Mitchell, whose long-standing love of the arts was so evident throughout her life. The Mitchell family's desire was to make a donation that would impact each of the University of Houston's strong arts programs. Working closely with UH leadership, the family proposed a programmatic alliance among the schools of Art, Music, and Theatre & Dance, as well as the Creative Writing Program and Blaffer Art Museum. $16 million was designated to form an endowment for the Centers programs, and $4 million covered the renovation of the School of Theatre & Dance facility, making room for new studios, a lobby for the Wortham Theatre, and offices for the Mitchell Center staff. The building was renamed the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts.
Specialties
The Mitchell Center is dedicated to ground-breaking, transformational collaborations across the performing, visual, and literary arts.