Jerry ’72 and Kay Cox ’02 honored with Peggy and Lowry Mays Impact Award

Longtime Mays Business School supporters Jerry ’72 and Kay Cox ’02 have been given the Peggy and Lowry Mays Impact Award.

Jerry Cox spoke at the Outstanding Alumni Dinner Thursday (April 5), and said he and his wife were “deeply honored and humbled” to receive the award and a crystal vase at the Outstanding Alumni Dinner on April 5. “We have been directly involved in this place for 23 years. It is now a part of us,” he said.

The award was created in 2017 to honor those who have had a distinguished impact on Mays while showcasing a mindset of giving and exuding strong leadership capabilities. The initial Impact Award honorees were the namesakes, Peggy and Lowry Mays.

Mays Dean Eli Jones said this year’s choice was an easy one. “This award is for people who have really put their imprint on Mays Business School, and these two set the bar for us,” he said. “They think of the kids first. They want them to have all the tools they need to succeed.”

This year’s recipients are Jerry ’72 and Kay Cox ’02, who have long supported Mays Business School with their resources and devotion of their time. One of the buildings within Mays Business School bears their name, in recognition of the donations they have made totaling more than $2 million. The pair has helped in other ways as well, with the creation of the Jerry and Kay Cox Endowed Chair at Mays and a scholarship fund set up for the Business Honors Program. They have been major donors behind several other enhancements at Texas A&M University, including the Cox-McFerrin Center for Aggie Basketball.

Jerry Cox equated their role at the business school to that of the equipment managers for the Houston Astros. “They take care of the bats, balls, gloves, shoes, and uniforms. They get to see these elite athletes up close night after night, and they get to know them better than just about anyone,” he said.  He said the Astros support team finally got a victory after 55 years. At Mays, he said he and his wife have gotten to see the school’s evolution to excellence “from the front-row seats.”

“We have so many rock stars on faculty and so many amazing students, it is a joy to be a part of it,” he said. “Between the leadership of the faculty and the quality of the students, we now have become world champions.”

Giving back to Texas A&M

Jerry Cox graduated from Texas A&M in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in finance. He then went on to receive a master’s degree in theological studies from Houston Baptist University and an honorary doctorate of laws from Pepperdine University. Kay Cox received her master’s degree in educational psychology from Texas A&M in 2002.

Serving as the president and chairman of independent oil and gas exploration and production company Cox & Perkins Exploration, Inc., Cox’s peers have nothing but praise for Cox as an adroit investor and businessman who operates with high integrity and honesty.

Cox is a member of the Hydril Company Board of Directors and the Pepperdine University Board of Regents. He has also served on boards and committees at Texas A&M, including the Texas A&M Foundation, the Dean’s Advisory Board at Mays Business School, and the Corps Development Council. He is a former director and president of the 12^th Man Foundation and was the presiding chairman of the One Spirit One Vision campaign. He was inducted into the Corps Hall of Honor in 2009 and has been honored as a Distinguished Alumnus by both Mays Business School and The Association of Former Students.