Mays Business School dean inducted into Ph.D. Project Hall of Fame

Eli Jones, dean of Mays Business School at Texas A&M University and holder of the Peggy Pitman Mays Eminent Scholar Chair in Business, joined an elite group when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame for the Ph.D. Project, a national group that works to increase the diversity of business school faculty members.

The award came during the Ph.D. Project’s annual Faculty Dinner, held in conjunction with the American Marketing Association (AMA)’s conference Aug. 5-6 in Atlanta. The AMA is a sponsor of the Ph.D. Project. About 100 of the Ph.D. project’s 200 Marketing Doctoral Students Association members attended.

Dean Eli Jones and Bernard Milano

The Ph.D. Project’s annual recognition of faculty members started in 2011 to honor commitment, involvement and inspiration, and to recognize “a select few who have greatly inspired many,” organizers said.

When presenting the Hall of Fame honor to Jones, KPMG Foundation and Ph.D. Project President Bernard Milano said: “You have been a wonderful role model and mentor to many, many people.”

In his acceptance speech, Jones said the Ph.D. Project stemmed from a need to increase the supply of underrepresented minority college graduates.

“One significant way to do so is to increase the minority representation at the front of the classroom,” he said. “In organizing the Ph.D. Project, what may not have been anticipated is the greater impact that this wonderful initiative would have on society.”

Jones added, “We are the light.  Let’s focus on our calling and keep pressing on to make a difference. Be still. Be the light.”

Jones also was presented with the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from the AMA’s Sales and Sales Management Special Interest Group (SIG), which provides programs designed to enhance selling and sales management scholarship, teaching and practice in an inclusive and collegial environment. The Lifetime Achievement Award honors the outstanding scholar who has made meaningful contributions to the field of sales through publications in top journals, teaching excellence, fostering professional development among others, and generally contributing to scholarship in the area of sales.

This year was the first time a charity component was added to the awards program to raise funds for the Ph.D. Project. Members of the AMA’s Sales SIG, as well as some of his friends and colleagues, gave personally to a charity in Jones’ name, and raised more than $14,000 – the highest raised by a single individual. The fund-raising component was a surprise to Jones until the afternoon he received the Lifetime Achievement Award.