Jones Graduate School of Administration - Council of Overseers records

The Jones Graduate School of Business is named after the late Jesse Holman Jones, a world-renowned business and civic leader. Born in Tennessee in 1874, Jones moved to Dallas in 1891, and then to Houston in 1898. He began his business career overseeing lumberyards and sawmills in East Texas and Louisiana, and soon after branched out into construction and banking as he oversaw the construction of some of Houston's tallest buildings in the early twentieth century. During World War I, Jones served as Director of Military Relief for the American Red Cross. Jones was called on for assistance by Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt, and served as chairman of the Rreconstruction Finance Corporation during the Great Depression, overseeing investments in various assistance programs. After serving as Secretary of Commerce during World War II, Jones focused more on his philanthropic efforts, funding various organizations devoted to the arts, environment and human services, as well as museums, scholarships, and student grants, mostly through his philanthropic organization, Houston Endowment, Inc. (excerpted from "Texas Highways," January 2009, p. 5).

The Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business received its initial funding in 1974 through a donation from the Houston Endowment. The Jones school offers multiple MBA degrees as well as an undergraduate minor, and its programs have been recognized throughout the world for fostering innovation and leadership. (excerpted from the Jones Graduate School of Business webpage, http://business.rice.edu/About_School.aspx, accessed June 6, 2011)