Jacksonville State University’s Department of Management and Marketing is now named in honor of Lyons and Co. Inc.
Lyons and Co. made a donation that secured the naming rights — distinguishing the partnership as the university’s first corporate gift for an academic department naming on campus. The Lyons & Co. Inc. Department of Management and Marketing becomes the second department named on the campus — the first was the David L. Walters Department of Music, which was named in honor of David L. Walters who directed the Marching Southerners for 30 years.
Established in Florence in 1995 as staffing firm Lyons HR, Lyons & Co. Inc. provides services to small and medium-sized businesses across the U.S. In 2008, the company added a Professional Employer Organization division, headquartered in Gadsden, that has grown into one of the largest privately owned PEOs in the country. Insurance and technology services were added in 2020 and 2022, respectively.
A PEO is an organization that enters into a co-employment relationship with an employer by outsourcing professionals who share human resource functions for multiple companies, including employee benefits, compensation and payroll administration, workers’ compensation and employment taxes.
“We are honored to be associated with the outstanding professionals at Lyons & Co. Inc.,” said Mark Hearn, interim department chair. “Their generosity — along with their commitment to the highest professional standards — sets a great example for our students and will have an impact on our department for years to come.”
Bruce Cornutt, president and CEO of Lyons & Co. Inc. and a graduate of JSU, said, “We are thrilled by the opportunity to build even stronger ties with Jacksonville State University, and we’re especially honored to be the first corporate academic department naming in the history of the university.”
Housed within the College of Business and Industry, the Lyons & Co. Inc. Department of Management and Marketing offers a bachelor’s in management, with concentrations in human resources, e-commerce and entrepreneurship; and a bachelor’s in marketing.
