COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Tony and Zoe Buzbee of Friendswood have pledged $3 million to the Texas A&M Foundation to support the Corps of Cadets’ Quadrangle renovation project. Their gift will name the first Leadership Learning Center and will help support future renovations on the quad; which serves as the home of the Corps with residence halls housing all cadets.
The Buzbee Leadership Learning Center, expected to open in August 2012, is a 17,500-square-foot, four-story building connecting Harrell Hall (Dorm 8) and Lacy Hall (Dorm 6). It will provide modern learning technology plus individual and group study spaces for cadets, and is the first of two identical learning centers the Corps hopes will enhance its top priorities: academics and recruiting. Construction on the second center will begin in summer 2013.
Tony Buzbee is encouraged by the Corps’ leadership and commitment to excellence and believes the center will enhance the cadets’ opportunities to excel as students at Texas A&M University. This commitment reflects his Corps experience as an undergraduate student.
“The Corps of Cadets was perfect for a young person like me,” said Buzbee, who grew up in Atlanta, Texas, and had originally planned a military career after high school. “It provided structure, friendship, leadership and guidance. In the Corps you learn you can compete against others from all over the state and excel. That builds confidence.”
During his senior year he served as a battalion commander and earned honors as a distinguished student and naval graduate. Buzbee also was named an outstanding Navy ROTC senior and an outstanding commander in A&M’s Corps of Cadets.
After graduating in 1990 with a degree in psychology, he spent four years in the U. S. Marine Corps, serving as an infantry officer in the Persian Gulf and Somalia before advancing to reconnaissance officer. Buzbee attained the rank of captain and was awarded the prestigious Navy Commendation Medal.
Following the Marine Corps, he attended the University of Houston Law School, graduating second in his class. He founded the Buzbee Law Firm in 1999 and over the past 13 years has earned national acclaim as a personal injury trial lawyer.
Buzbee and his wife, Zoe, who graduated from Texas A&M in 1991 with an interdisciplinary studies degree, met in an English class. She is president of Buzbee Properties, which owns and manages more than 50 commercial and residential properties in Galveston County. The Buzbees reside in Friendswood, Texas, with their four children.
