12 Mays Moments of 2017

As 2017 comes to a close, Mays Business School celebrates another successful year. Here are 12 of our favorite moments:

1. Strategic plan launch
Mays Business School officially launched its new strategic plan, after hundreds of Mays faculty, staff, students and former students worked together to develop it. The strategic planning process itself was innovative and unique among business schools, using Appreciative Inquiry – a positive approach to change – to affirm Mays’ past and present strengths, to discover what makes Mays truly distinct, and to envision ways to amplify that distinctiveness.

2. Business school with a heart
When Mays junior Ashton Robison shared her touching photo of Mays Clinical Assistant Professor Henry Musoma holding her baby during a lecture, it immediately went viral. From the headline “Mommy Was Able to Graduate” in People to a guest appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” news quickly traveled around the world about the culture of caring and connectedness at Mays Business School. It all started with the simple act of Musoma inviting Ashton to bring Emmett to his “Ethical Decision Making and Conduct” class when she didn’t have a babysitter. To recognize Musoma for his selfless service, Dean Eli Jones presented him with the first Mays Business School Spirit Award on Sept. 14. Watch “The Ellen Show” clip at tx.ag/ellenshow.

3. Largest single gift
The Texas A&M Foundation receives a commitment of $25 million from the Mays Family Foundation, the largest single commitment in the school’s history. The gift is part of an overall lifetime giving of $47 million, including a $15 million commitment in 1996 to rename the school to Mays Business School.

4. 50th to 1st anniversaries 

Many anniversaries of Mays programs were celebrated this past year, including the 50th of the MBA, the 5th of the Professional MBA, and the 1st of the MS Business program.

5. Inaugural Impact Award

Mays Business School gave the inaugural Peggy and Lowry Mays Impact Award to the award namesakes during the 25th-Year Anniversary Outstanding Alumni Awards Dinner. The award was created to recognize outstanding contributions to the vision and mission of the school. Recipients must exhibit a long and distinguished record of impacting Mays Business School in significant ways, which include exemplary giving and strong leadership.

6. $150,000-plus to nonprofits
The Strategic Philanthropy class at Mays awarded $100,000 to nonprofits – double what was given the first year – in the spring of 2017, and another $62,500 in the fall. The funds are distributed by students in the class.

7. The Most CEOs
Texas A&M University is tied with the University of Michigan for having the most graduates currently serving as CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, according to a Fortune magazine study. Three Fortune 500 CEOs are Mays graduates: Bruce D. Broussard ’84, CEO of Humana; David M. Cordani ’88, CEO of Cigna; and Jeff Miller ’88, CEO of Halliburton.

8. McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship

Thanks to the late longtime Texas A&M University benefactor Arthur “Artie” McFerrin Jr. ’65, his entrepreneurial spirit continues to inspire future generations of Aggies through the renaming of Mays Business School’s Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship (CNVE) in his honor. The center is now a powerhouse of innovation encompassing 27 programs serving more than 3,000 students and 1,000 former students per year.

9. 10th Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans
Mays hosted the 10th Annual Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans. It was renamed this year to the Reynolds and Reynolds Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans Program in recognition of a $2 million dollar endowment.

10. Innovation research
The Texas A&M Foundation received commitments of $3 million from the Mays Family Foundation and $2.6 million from the Charles Koch Foundation to establish the Mays Innovation Research Center within Mays Business School and engage in the study of innovation to advance knowledge in this important field.

11. Women’s Leadership Initiative Conference
Mays Business School explored “Strategies for Navigating the Path to Executive Leadership” in its semi-annual Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) conference on Oct. 20. More than 400 women from corporations, the campus, and the community attended the first conference at Texas A&M University. The WLI was created eight years ago as a vehicle to boost the number of women in leadership positions and demonstrate the school’s commitment to developing women as transformational leaders.

12. Hurricane Harvey help
Mays faculty, staff, and students stepped up to provide aid after Hurricane Harvey. One effort was #BTHOHarvey, a student-led initiative that raised more than $350,000 in monetary donations and collected thousands of donated goods.

Have a favorite moment not mentioned here? Share with us on social media @MaysBusiness.