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The Mitchell Spectrograph (a.k.a. VIRUS-P) on the 2.7m Harlan J. Smithtelescope at McDonald Observatory is currently the largest field of view (FOV)integral field unit (IFU) spectrograph in the world (1.7'x1.7'). It wasdesigned as a prototype for the highly replicable VIRUS spectrograph whichconsists of a mosaic of IFUs spread over a 16' diameter FOV feeding 150spectrographs similar to the Mitchell. VIRUS will be deployed on the 9.2 meterHobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) and will be used to conduct the HET Dark EnergyExperiment (HETDEX). Since seeing first light in 2007 the Mitchell Spectrographhas been widely used, among other things, to study nearby galaxies in the localuniverse where their internal structure and the spatial distribution ofdifferent physical parameters can be studied in great detail. Theseobservations have provided important insight into many aspects of the physicsbehind the formation and evolution of galaxies and have boosted the scientificimpact of the 2.7 meter telescope enormously. Here I review the contributionsof the Mitchell Spectrograph to the study of nearby galaxies, from theinvestigation of the spatial distribution of dark matter and the properties ofsupermassive black holes, to the studies of the process of star formation andthe chemical composition of stars and gas in the ISM, which provide importantinformation regarding the formation and evolution of these systems. I highlightthe fact that wide field integral field spectrographs on small and medium sizetelescopes can be powerful cost effective tools to study the astrophysics ofgalaxies. Finally I briefly discuss the potential of HETDEX for conductingstudies on nearby galaxies. The survey parameters make it complimentary andcompetitive to ongoing and future surveys like SAMI and MANGA.

The Mitchell Spectrograph: Studying Nearby Galaxies with the VIRUS Prototype