March 30, 2005 - Houston-based Midway Companies has seeded the newly created James A. Moran Real Estate Excellence Fund with a $100,000 endowment to Mays Business School.
Midway's gift will support various faculty and student activities at the Mays Business School. It is named after James A. "Bugs" Moran, the founder of Midway Development Company in 1968, for his contributions of integrity and professionalism to the real estate industry.
"Our students and programs will benefit greatly from Midway's generous contribution and Mr. Moran's legacy of ethics and fair dealing in real estate," Dean Jerry Strawser said.
Midway Chairman Bradley R. Freels '81 fondly remembers his old partner and mentor as a creative and inspiring leader and "truly one of the best at extracting value from a piece of land."
Midway Companies began as Midway Development Co., Inc. in 1968 with the development of a 160-acre Dallas-area pasture, located at Midway Road and LBJ into Metropolitan Business Park. Over the years, Midway integrated the full scope of development services and property management. Today Midway continues this full-service approach in developing commercial and residential projects. In 1999, the company was renamed Midway Companies, which is now the parent company to a host of real estate-related companies also headquartered in Houston.
The creation of the Moran Real Estate Excellence Fund is important assistance in the One Spirit One Vision Campaign undertaken by Texas A&M with the goal of achieving national top-10 public-university status without losing the distinctive Aggie spirit. The volunteer-led campaign, coordinated by the Texas A&M Foundation, encompasses all private gifts benefiting the university.