From football fields to flight systems, the Mulholland family’s story is a multigenerational testament to the power of education, mentoring and service. And through the Dr. Milan H. Cobble and Dr. George P. Mulholland Mechanical Engineering Endowed Scholarship and decades of service to their communities, each generation has left an indelible mark on Aggie history, with more chapters yet to come.
George Patrick Mulholland ’60 ’62 came to NMSU from Philadelphia in 1958 on a football scholarship and played under legendary coach Warren Woodson during the Aggies’ golden years. But Mulholland was more than an athlete. Like his teammate, the late Charley Johnson ’61, he excelled in engineering and earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from NMSU before completing a Ph.D. at Oklahoma State.
He returned to NMSU to teach mechanical engineering for 33 years, becoming a beloved professor, a founding member of Ingenieros Eminentes and associate director of the Waste-management Research Consortium. He poured his energy into students and programs that tackled global environmental and health challenges.
While at NMSU, Mulholland met Lynn Freiburger, a passionate teacher who earned her master’s in education from NMSU in 1978. Together, they built a life of purpose in Las Cruces – volunteering with the Crane Reading Program and the Spay Neuter Action Program and hiking the rugged trails of New Mexico. Mulholland died in October 2024.
“George and I both loved teaching,” Lynn Mulholland says. “The kids went to Las Cruces schools, a couple of them went to NMSU, and we found real joy in supporting our community.”
Their son John Mulholland ’86 ’95 followed in his father’s footsteps, launching an engineering career into space. A recipient of NASA’s Exceptional Achievement Medal and NMSU’s Bromilow Lectureship, John Mulholland led shuttle propulsion testing at White Sands, managed orbiter engineering at Johnson Space Center, and now serves as Boeing’s vice president of the Commercial Crew Program. He oversees the CST-100 Starliner, a spacecraft supporting NASA missions and commercial spaceflight.
“I was raised to use my talents to serve,” John Mulholland says. “Whether that means helping children read or helping astronauts fly, the goal is the same.”
Today, John Mulholland and his wife Sarah Mulholland ’89 ’91, look to their son Jack Mulholland ’15 ’21, an NMSU engineering and MBA graduate, to carry forward the family legacy of Aggie pride.
John Mulholland, far left, followed in his father’s footsteps and pursued an engineering career.
George Patrick Mulholland’s legacy stretches from the football field to the engineering field and beyond. Mulholland was a mechanical engineering professor at NMSU for 33 years.
Dove Hall, Room 212
305 N. Horseshoe Drive
Las Cruces, NM 88003
