# Mays Business School

Mays Business School is the business school at Texas A&M University. The school educates more than 7,400 undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students in accounting, finance, management, management information systems, marketing and supply chain management.
Mays Business School was one of the first five schools in the United States to offer a trading center, the Reliant Securities & Commodities Trading Center, which provides students with hands-on training in the tools used by commodities and currency traders. Students also use the center to manage the Reveille Fund, a $3 million portfolio created using donated funds. Additionally, the Mays houses the Center for Retailing Studies, which was the first retailing center partnered with a business school.

## History

Business education was first offered at Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College in conjunction with mechanical and agricultural programs. From 1876 through 1920 students at Texas A&M could select from a small number of business courses including single and double-entry bookkeeping and creamery management. In the 1920s the Department of Economics and the Agricultural Administration programs began offering further business courses, and by the end of the decade the college had established departments for accounting and statistics, farm and ranch management, marketing, and finance.
Shortly after World War II, Thomas W. Leland became the first department head of the newly created Department of Business and Accounting, under the umbrella of the School of Arts and Sciences. After Leland's retirement in 1961, the School of Business Administration was formed. By 1965 the new head of the department, John E. Pearson, had spearheaded the formation of several departments within the School of Business, including accounting, business analysis and research, finance, marketing, and management. The Master of Business Administration (MBA) program debuted in 1966, and two years later in 1968, the college was officially formed when Texas A&M received University status, and the School of Business became the College of Business Administration. The college was accredited by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) in 1972, and began awarding Ph.D.s the same year. Over the next several decades the college continued to grow, establishing various centers, including the Center for International Business Studies and the Center for Human Resources Management, and implementing new bachelor's degrees.
In 1994 the West Campus Library, later renamed the Business Library & Collaboration Commons (BLCC), is built. The BLCC is home to one of eight Patent and Trademark Centers (PTRC) in the state of Texas.
The College of Business moved into the newly built Wehner Building on the western edge of Texas A&M University's campus in 1995. The following year the College was endowed by Lowry Mays, founder of Clear Channel Communications, and in his honor was renamed Lowry Mays College & Graduate School of Business. Six years later, the name was simplified to Mays Business School. Expansion quickly continued, and in 2003 an additional wing was added to the Wehner Building, housing the new 66,000-square-foot (6,100 m$^2$) Jerry and Kay Cox Graduate Business Center.
In January 2025, the Wayne Roberts '85 Building was opened, an 82,500-square-foot building included a grand atrium, cafe, classrooms, and additional study areas. Simultaneously, the ConocoPhillips Collaboration Plaza was built outside, bridging the Wehner and Roberts buildings.

## Academics

The business school is subdivided into five academic departments: accounting, finance, information & operations management, management, and marketing.
In 2017, the accounting department was renamed to the James Benjamin Department of Accounting in recognition of Benjamin's $4 million gift. In 2022, the finance department was renamed the Adam C. Sinn '00 Department of Finance in recognition of a $20 million gift to support Mays finance students.
In addition to traditional graduation routes, Mays offers five-year programs. In the Professional Program in Accounting, students earn their BBA in accounting and a Master of Science in various disciplines concurrently.

## Research Centers

* Adam C. Sinn Center for Investment Management
* Reliant Securities & Commodities Trading Center (RTC)
* McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship (MCE)
* Reynolds & Reynolds Sales Leadership Institute
* Center for Retailing Studies (CRS)
* Center for International Business Studies (CIBS)
* Center for Executive Development
* Center for Human Resource Management

## List of Deans

* John E. Pearson (1968–1978)
* William V. Muse (1978–1982)
* William H. Mobley (1983–1986)
* A. Benton Cocanougher (1987–2001)
* Jerry R. Strawser (2001-2015)
* Eli Jones (2015–2021)
* Nate Sharp (2023–Present)

## Notable Faculty

* Leonard Berry, distinguished professor of marketing
* R. Duane Ireland, distinguished professor of management and former interim dean
* Eli Jones, professor of marketing and former dean
* Venkatesh Shankar, professor of marketing

## Notable Alumni

* Cigna COO and President David Cordani '88
* Humana CEO and President Bruce Broussard '84
* Halliburton CEO, President, and Chairman of the Board Jeff Miller (American businessman) '88
* New Orleans Saints Head Coach Dennis Allen (American football)
* Permanent University Fund (UTIMCO) Chief Investment Officer, Teacher Retirement System of Texas Chief Investment Officer, Bridgewater Associates former CEO Thomas Britton Harris IV '80
* Koch Industries Co-Owner, CEO, and Chairman Chase Koch
* Kinder Morgan CEO Kimberly Dang '92
* Southwest Airlines CCO Ryan Green '99

## Student Organizations

* Business Student Council (BSC)
** Founded in 1968, BSC is responsible for some of the largest events and projects at Texas A&M, including MaysFest, the Business Career Fair, and Mays apparel sales.
** Functions as an umbrella organization between the Dean's office and the other student organizations at Mays Business School.
* Aggie Investment Club (AIC)
** Founded in 2000.
** Membership is open to undergraduate and graduate students of all majors.
** Functions include speaker series, Security Analysis Workshops (SAW), and travel series which has included meetings with Warren Buffett, George Mitchell, Sam Zell, and Lee Bass; among others.

## Undergraduate Programs

* Aggies on Wall Street
* Trading, Risk, and Investments Program (TRIP)
* Professional Program of Accounting (PPA)
* The Reveille Fund
* Titans of Investing