The University of Texas at Austin has announced a $60 million multiyear pledge from the Houston-based Mulva Family Foundation in support of the McCombs School of Business and Cockrell School of Engineering.

The gift from the foundation established by UT Austin alumnus and former ConocoPhillips CEO James J. Mulva and his wife, Miriam, includes $20 million toward construction of an Engineering Education and Research Center. Scheduled to be completed in 2017, the center will feature research, project, and interactive spaces for faculty and students, as well as the James J. and Miriam B. Mulva Conference Center and Auditorium. The remaining $40 million will be used to renovate the Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration buildings, which collectively will be renamed James J. and Miriam B. Mulva Hall.

Included as part of UT Austin's $3 billion capital campaign, now in its final year, the gift will help the university meet its goal of raising $105 million from private sources for construction of EERC. The Mulvas previously donated $15 million for construction of the Liberal Arts Building.

"The University of Texas has been very important to our family," said Jim Mulva. "Accordingly, it is also important that we give back and assist in the growth and development of this premier institution."