$10 Million Gift Supports Leadership, Excellence, Growth

Pending approval by the state Institutions of Higher Learning board of trustees, the building will be named Jones Hall to honor his support. The 100,000-square-foot, $125 million academic facility is to be built at the corner of University Avenue and Grove Loop.

When completed, the building will also free up needed space in Conner Hall for the School of Business Administration to expand and better serve its record 5,900-member student body.

"The naming is meaningful to me because the Patterson School is the No. 1 college program in Mississippi as far as national rankings," said Jones, of Houston, Texas, and Hattiesburg. "We have a chance to strengthen the Patterson School, for it to be a shining light, the tip of the spear for the university's national recognition.

"That pairs with our university's growth, with our record freshman class, with our high interest from out-of-state students, recognizing with their applications that Ole Miss is becoming the best to other states, not just to Mississippi, and with our success in athletics."

Jones and his wife, Paula, consider the gift an investment in their passion for education, Mississippi, better workplaces and job creation.

"We also are willing to make this gift because we see the leadership – Chancellor Glenn Boyce and others –pursuing excellence and that's contagious," said Jones, a 2004 graduate. "We admire the values, strategies and culture of Ole Miss' leadership."

Paula Jones echoed her husband's enthusiasm.

"As a family, we have always believed in the transformative power of education, not just for personal success but for the betterment of entire communities," she said. "Jonathan's experience at Ole Miss was instrumental in shaping the path he's taken, and we hope this gift will provide future generations, including our own children, with the same opportunities to achieve their goals and dreams.

"Education is one of the greatest gifts we can give, and we are proud to support this incredible institution in its continued growth."

For many consecutive years, the school has been a mainstay among the nation's top 10 accountancy programs and is ranked No. 8 nationally.

"We are very proud to name this new academic home for a tremendously successful young alumnus who cares deeply about his alma mater, education and job creation," Boyce said. "A gift of this magnitude reflects Jonathan and Paula's defining voices to guide and strengthen our university and their deep desire to impact individuals with better lives. They serve as an inspiration to all of us."

Mark Wilder, UM accountancy dean, called the gift the most significant and consequential" in the school's history.

"Their support will encourage higher levels of excellence for future generations of accountancy students, professionals and business leaders," Wilder said. "We greatly appreciate their investment in our university and school – and we are honored to have the Jones name on our new academic home."

Jones Capital encompasses a portfolio of 11 directly controlled companies across the industrial, infrastructure and software sectors. These enterprises include a private port; a legal AI company; a testing, inspection, and compliance software provider; a specialty rental platform for portable refrigerated storage; a commercial contractor; a specialized logistics company with a contracted-dedicated truck fleet and flatbed brokerage; a group of lumber mills; a paper and plastics recycling business; a logistics and construction firm serving the midstream and renewables industries; and a maintenance and construction services provider for power utilities.

The business employs more than 1,600 people worldwide.

Jones' parents, Brett and Lisa, ingrained in him the importance a good education – particularly his mother who was the valedictorian of her senior class.

"My father is the best man and best entrepreneur I've ever met," Jones said. "Without his mentorship and demonstration of hard work and moral compass, I'm not sure where I would be in life. My entire family is full of empathetic entrepreneurs, including my older brother, Jeremy, who runs his own business and is my biggest fan."

"We're in business to enhance the lives of others, allowing them opportunity to transform their own families via our companies. Jonathan Duhon and Tom Caughlin are partners with me at Jones Capital, both of which are Ole Miss alumni and Kappa Sigma fraternity brothers of mine. The three of us have benefited from Ole Miss in more ways than we can count."

"The biggest things Ole Miss gave me were experiences, exposure to families from around the country, lasting relationships and a feeling of community I had never experienced before. That's what my mom wanted for me: a great education and a chance to experience a unique environment like Ole Miss."

Duhon, managing partner of Jones Capital, has worked alongside Jones for the last 20 years.

"Jonathan and Paula Jones' remarkable gift to the Patterson School of Accountancy reflects their lifelong commitment to enhancing educational opportunities and creating lasting impacts on individual lives and the community," Duhon said. " Their passion for giving back, rooted in their family values, has been a cornerstone of their success, enabling them to invest in strengthening Mississippi's future through education."

Entrepreneurship and the business world appeal to Jones because they offer opportunities to keep learning, mentor others and help people build purposeful lives. Those who have influenced him include philanthropists, successful business professionals and brothers Tommy and Jim Duff, of Hattiesburg, with the two supporting all three of the state's largest universities and Tommy Duff serving as an IHL trustee for many years.

"The Duffs and I went to grade school in the same small town of Columbia," Jones said. "Both men, with offices right down the street running a national business, were always willing to open their door and allow me see everything they were doing. I have a tremendous amount of admiration and respect for them.

"Businessmen and Ole Miss alumni Billy Van Devender and Will Galtney – good men – have been engaged in my life; again, it's that Ole Miss community. Supporters of the university are supportive of one another. They want us to rise together."

In 2018, Jones founded his firm to provide private capital to a diverse group of middle-market businesses. He is the former CEO of Jones Cos., founded in 1949 by his paternal grandfather, Lloyd Jones, and later led by his dad – a family business that began with a lumber mill in Sandy Hook, adjacent to the Dexter community where Jones grew up. Its mission was simple: help communities, provide jobs and enhance lives.

With offices in Houston, Hattiesburg and several around the globe, Jones carries on that mission. The firm is also building a new office complex in Hattiesburg for its Mississippi-based portfolio companies, investing to enhance lives in the communities it serves. This office will provide internships and jobs to graduates from multiple Mississippi universities.

"We're excited to help mitigate Mississippi's brain drain by giving graduates of Mississippi universities more choices of great places to work when they finish college without being forced to move to Atlanta, Dallas or Nashville," Jones said.

Jones serves on the UM Foundation Board of Directors, is an executive board member of the Governor's Task Force for Economic Recovery and is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization in Houston.

His entrepreneurial accomplishments have been widely recognized. In 2010, he was named one of Mississippi Business Journal's Top 40 Under 40. In 2016, he was the Gulf Coast regional winner and a national finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. In 2019, he was listed among Mississippi's Top 50 Most Influential, and in 2022, the University of Southern Mississippi recognized him as Entrepreneur of the Year.

To make a gift to the Patterson School of Accountancy Building Fund, click here or send a check, with the fund noted on the memo line, to the University of Mississippi Foundation, 406 University Ave., Oxford, MS 38655. For more information on supporting the building, contact Jason McCormick, executive director of development, at jason@olemiss.edu or 662-915-1757.

Top: The university plans to name the new home for the Patterson School of Accountancy as Jones Hall in honor of a $10 million gift from alumnus Jonathan Jones and his wife, Paula. The building is slated for the corner of University Avenue and Grove Loop on the edge of the Grove.