Lowry Mays, Class of 1957, died on Sept. 12 at the age of 87, according to Texas A&M Today. Mays earned a petroleum engineering degree from Texas A&M, and was founder and CEO of Clear Channel Communications. Mays served two terms — 1985-1991 and 2001-2007— on The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, and regularly supported the university through leadership, time and various donations.
With his $15 million endowment to the School of Business in 1996, the school was renamed the Lowry Mays College & Graduate School of Business. A&M later renamed the school in 2002 to Mays Business School. The Mays Family Foundation gave an additional $25 million in 2017. In total, Mays gifted $47 million to the university in his lifetime, “to advance the world’s prosperity,” as he said following the 2017 donation.
Mays was honored in 2010 with the Sterling C. Evans Medal by the Texas A&M Foundation Board of Trustees for his philanthropy and dedication to the university. The Peggy and Lowry Mays Impact Award was created and given to the couple in 2017 for their devotion to the business school. The award continues to be given to individuals who support the school through exemplary giving and strong leadership.
Several Mays Business School programs, accounting, marketing and management rank in the top 20 nationally. Through Mays’ support, the Business School was able to support a number of endowed faculty chairs as well as establish the Mays Innovation Research Center, seeking to understand the true nature of innovation and how it benefits society.
