New Donors, Making a Big Impact: Myrtle Jones

Photo by Ryan Price ‘07

Myrtle Jones, senior vice president of tax at Halliburton, reached out to Mays Business School to create an endowed scholarship at Texas A&M University. Although not an Aggie herself, her passion to give and devotion to the transformative power of education prompted her to take action in paving the way for the next generation of leaders in accounting.

“I’ve never been a part of any kind of existence where giving didn’t happen,” Jones said. “It’s just not possible because it’s not a part of who I am.”

Jones is excited about providing students, particularly those from marginalized communities, an opportunity for education. Her initiative illustrates the potential for scholarships to serve as a vital resource in breaking down barriers to higher education, empowering students from diverse backgrounds to pursue their academic and career goals.

“My generation is the first generation in my family to go to college. My parents did not even finish high school, but me, my siblings, and my grandkids have all gone,” Jones said. “Education is how you really change the trajectory of an entire family and then of an entire community.”

In the 1980s, the energy sector was largely controlled by men, making it difficult for women, especially those from minority backgrounds, to rise to leadership roles. Nonetheless, Jones faced this obstacle directly. Now with more than 30 years of expertise in both international and domestic tax compliance as well as strategic tax planning, she heads the tax department at Halliburton, the largest oilfield service firm in the United States, managing tax issues across 80 countries.

“I want to encourage more students to recognize the opportunities in accounting and pursue it as a degree, as a means of improving their lives financially and changing their economic status. That’s truly what I hope to achieve by creating this scholarship,” Jones said.

Named in honor of her Aggie son, the Myrtle Jones and Emmitt Nathanial Penelton ’22 Foundation Excellence Award in Accounting was established to serve as a powerful motivator for students of diverse ethnicities and genders to pursue the field of accounting. She firmly believes that accounting is not merely a profession but rather the very foundation upon which successful business practices are built.

“Myrtle is the role model of giving back and is iconic for what we strive to do within Mays,” Ben Welch, associate dean for executive education at Mays, said. “She is a true representation of where business meets leadership, inspiring people wherever she goes and radiating our core value of selfless service.”

Additionally, she serves on several nonprofit boards and has been honored with various accolades, including being named one of Black Enterprise magazine’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Corporate America and one of the Houston Business Journal’s Top 25 Women in Oil and Gas.

Jones holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Mississippi State University, is a Certified Public Accountant in Texas, and serves on the board of Synagro Technologies, Inc., an environmental abatement services company based in Baltimore, Maryland. She has three children, and her youngest son, Emmitt ’22, graduated with a master’s in accounting from Mays.