Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush graduated from Rice University, where he majored in history with a minor in political science. After graduating from Rice, Commissioner Bush worked as a public school teacher in Miami, Florida. He then left his teaching job to attend law school at the University of Texas-Austin. He later co-founded Pennybacker Capital LLC, a real estate private equity firm, and St. Augustine Partners LLC, an investment firm focused on oil and gas transactions and consulting for private businesses. Commissioner Bush also served in the United States Navy Reserve as an intelligence officer for 10 years. He was elected to the position of Texas Land Commissioner on Nov. 4, 2014 and continues to serve in the role after winning his 2018 re-election bid.
Spencer: Was there one class you took at Rice that was very memorable class or did you have one professor at Rice that had a profound impact on you? If so, could you speak a little bit about that.
Commissioner Bush: There were several classes that triggered my imagination, whether it was in my current position in public service or in my first job after Rice as a teacher. But it was really in the history department that triggered that imagination. I particularly remember a world history class that led from the beginning of the human experience until the advent of Western civilization in 1492. A modern history class really sticks out in my mind. I remember taking a Latin American politics class. I think a lot of people remember Dr. Stoll, who taught international relations. I walked away with a degree in history, but also a minor in political science before the Baker Institute was created so it was a different curriculum. It was really my first intellectual bootcamp experience and it really served as the foundation for my career and for my studies in the law, where I eventually went to law school, passed the bar, and practiced law. I have Rice History to thank for where I am now.
“It was really my first intellectual “bootcamp” experience and it really served as the foundation for my career and for my studies in the law... I have Rice History to thank for where I am now. ”
Spencer: What led to you wanting to serve in the U.S. Navy Reserve as an intelligence officer?
Commissioner Bush: It was a unique process since I was in law school during 9/11. I think most people remember where they were when 9/11 occurred. At that time, I had signed up to work with a federal judge between 2003 and 2004 upon completion of law school. And at about that time, I had the opportunity to attend the commissioning of my grandfather’s war-ship and he was the first living president to have that honor bestowed on him while he was alive. It was in Norfolk, Virginia where I had the chance to attend the commissioning and it is a very solemn procession with not only active duty members, but reserve members and Navy veterans. I had the chance over the course of that weekend to talk with folks in the military. My wife and I talked about the different possibilities of serving the country, whether it was CIA or FBI. The more we learned about Navy Intel, the more it just drew my interest. We were practicing attorneys at the time, and we had friends in the J.A.G. program at the time and most of them didn’t express a positive experience. Not to belittle what Navy JAGS do, but a lot of them didn’t enjoy what they were doing so that really steered me toward Naval intelligence. I then stepped into a recruiter’s office so I was already an established lawyer and I was on a pretty good pathway. I knew that I needed to do something more while I was still fairly young and so I got my commission at the age of 30, which was a little bit later than most in the military. I got my direct commission in 2007 and I have wrapped up, as of two years ago, ten years of service as a reservist. I also had some time in the active duty. I really recommend the intelligence community to those that are thinking about public service whether it is in the military or as a civilian.
“My wife and I talked about the different possibilities of serving the country...I knew that I needed to do something more while I was still fairly young and so I got my commission at the age of 30”
Spencer: As a former school teacher, could you please talk about the current year of education initiative by the Texas Land Office and why you think it is so important for young students across Texas to learn about the history of Texas?
Commissioner Bush: We certainly have a unique state history and Rice History is probably the preeminent Texas state history program that you will find and I am proud of that. What we do at the land office is provide one of the largest sources of revenue to public education through the management of oil and gas, minerals, and commercial real estate throughout the state. And this legislative session resulted in historic investment in K-12 education- so what triggered the thought to commence a year of education initiative was the confluence of what we do at the land office, generating a record 2 billion dollars for public education, and also the legislature making an historic investment. The first teacher pay raise occurred for the first time in quite a few decades, which is quite a long time coming in Texas. We felt like instead of only writing a check, we also needed to get in the classroom. Instead of just being a politician preaching, our land office manages the save Texas history program and a voluminous archive of 40 million documents. This is a great chance to bring primary source documents into the classroom. Since Texas still maintains that requirement in fourth grade and seventh grade to teach Texas state history, this is a wonderful opportunity to get back into the classroom. We really cast a wide net. I just wrapped up my forty-third class in Temple, Texas so we have been in rural Texas, suburban Texas, urban, and charter. And really this had led us to the decision that next year we are going to devote our platform to energy in Texas and so that will continue to tie into the classroom, particularly community colleges. We will begin the discussion of what employment opportunities are available to Texas high schoolers as we are in the middle of an energy renaissance in our state.
“What we do at the land office is provide one of the largest sources of revenue to public education through the management of oil and gas, minerals, and commercial real estate throughout the state. What triggered the thought to commence a year of education initiative was the confluence of what we do at the land office, generating a record 2 billion dollars for public education, and also the legislature making an historic investment.”
Interview in 2019 by Spencer Moffat for the Rice Historical Review Student Feature.