UD Alumni Profile: Meet John!

John Cantrell, from the class of 1970, was among the first to graduate from the College of Business MBA program. He was working for Texas Instruments while going to school, and he says that attending the University of Dallas allowed him to meet people who were from all different disciplines, the jobs they had, and the reason they were here. John still recalls his favorite memories of building relationships with his fellow classmates.

“We got very close going through many of the programs where we worked in groups like marketing where there would be four or five to a group; we got to know each other very well. I think that, plus the association with the professors, who were top quality, in my mind, were my fondest memories and most beneficial memories in my mind.”


Having received his bachelor’s degree from Texas Christian University, the master’s degree program at UD has been beneficial to John’s career. “It was the stimulus that let me leave Texas Instruments, which was a very fine company, and become an entrepreneur, forming my own company for 33 years, coming in the oil and gas business.”


“I have actually come back to the University for advice; it was extremely valuable. Halfway through my career when my company had some very tough business decisions and with one in particular, Dr. James Maknes, was very helpful in getting back on the track and could’ve very possibly saved my business. That was invaluable.”

Faculty Profile: Bruce Evans on Management and Music

Professor Bruce Evans, professor of management in the College of Business, is a native New Yorker who has spent time living in various parts of the East Coast. His uncle was a professor at Harvard and his sister taught at Gallaudet University. “It got me to wonder if I didn’t belong in education.”

Prior to joining the faculty at UD, he worked as a re-insurance underwriter at CIGNA which led to his Vice President of Reinsurance position at Transport Insurance.

He came to the University of Dallas when the Graduate School of Management was newly forming, and has served the University longer than any other faculty colleague. “I heard that an MBA program had just been launched.”

The favorite part of teaching at UD for Evans is the Capstone Experience, which he helped to create. Launched in 1973, theCapstone is the final course for graduate students. It was formed after a meeting with various professors from universities with leading business schools such as Stanford, Harvard, and Tulane. Those faculty members strongly endorse inactive case study books. From there, Evans and his colleagues took a cue to instead involve actual chief executives who pose significant strategic problems for the graduating students to master.

 “Management is an art. We had to find something practical,” he says.

Evans is currently in his 148th Capstone course. “The results from the clients are superb. It’s been great for everybody.” He says that he is proud and privileged to have guided MBA students in their learning experiences.

In addition to teaching, Evans is a musician on the side. He has played the clarinet since he was eight years old. His band, “Sound Judgment,” has been together for decades, and has played at the President’s Reception, Cotillion Ball, and Alumni Reunion weekend. “It’s just plain fun. I’m comfortable.”

Evans is also being interviewed on 1160 AM every Wednesday morning at 7:40 a.m. He discusses the College of Business graduate school and the Capstone Experience.

“I’m doing what I want to do.”

As if you needed another reason to go to UD...

Reason number 1245 to enroll at the University of Dallas?  Parking.

While we have enough parking place to accommodate our student population, parking is scarce on many campuses.  Check out this article in the Chronicle of Higher Education for more details.

DFW Companies Make Strong Showing on Inc. 5000 List

The University of Dallas is located in the heart the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which has one of the strongest economies in the nation.  More than 100,000 companies are located in DFW, and 124 of them were just named to the Inc. 5000 List of the Fastest Growing Private Companies in America.

The Inc. magazine 5,000 list ranks private companies according to percentage growth over the previous three years and covers a variety of industries.  Four DFW area companies made the list's top 100.

124 Dallas-Fort Worth Companies Make Inc. 5000 List

Classes for the Fall term start tomorrow.

However, there is still time to get started on your MBA this fall.  The University of Dallas has rolling admissions and multiple start dates, which means that students can begin classes at several times throughout the year.

Here's a look at the rest of the calendar for 2011:

• September 12:  12-week fall II semester begins
• October 15:  six-week foundation II semester begins
• November 28:  two-week intermester begins

Apply Now Online!

Another thing for new students to do with the start of classes!

While most of our students are employed full time and are not actively looking for work, may I suggest that both new and existing students stop by our Career Services office?

You will find the staff there to be wonderful.

Working with them in advance of your need to search for a job allows them to better prepare you for the job search.

Here is their web page: University of Dallas Career Services

Stop by their place for a visit!

Good Advice for the Start of Classes!

With classes starting Saturday, here is some good advice from Inside Higher Ed: Get to know the librarians!

We are Working Hard These Days!

We are very busy here in Graduate Admissions for the UD College of Business.  Fall classes start on Saturday, August 27th. Applications are rolling in, files are being evaluated.  Students are registering for classes.  We are down to our last few days.  If you want to get into the MBA program starting with classes here in the Fall now is the time to get cracking!

Give me a call at 972.721.4018 should you have any questions.

Check out the University's Rankings!

Here they are, right on the UD website: University of Dallas Rankings

Meeting Students in Lima

I attended a college fair in Lima, Peru on Saturday, 8/13. Over 600 people attended the 2 hour event. They all came seeking information on MBA programs. The attendees were impressed with the MBA program at UD and were surprised that such a dynamic program was so inexpensive, truly a great value.

Dr. Fernando Arellano attended the fair with me. A Limeño and himself a former international student, Dr. Arellano was able to give the prospective MBA scholars a detailed description of what it would be like traveling to Dallas to study at the University of Dallas (see photo). He is just one example of how UD professors reach out to their students.

I was impressed with Lima. The Peruvian people are very welcoming of strangers, going out of their way in making you feel at home. For those of you who don’t know, Peruvian cuisine has the reputation of being the best in South America, a reputation that is well deserved!

Once the capital of the Spanish colonial empire, Lima is a cosmopolitan city and bustling with energy. It has a mild climate, with the Pacific Ocean at it's forefront and the mighty Andes Mountains at its back. I uploaded a picture from the airplane of the steep "andino" peaks. I can see why Hollywood set an Indiana Jones movie in these mountains!

I’ll return to Dallas tomorrow. I hope to continue to have contact with the many prospective MBA students that I had the pleasure of meeting in Lima. Hopefully, I’ll be able to visit again soon.

Busy Bogota

On Thursday I attended a VERY busy college fair in Bogota, Colombia. In fact, it was so busy that I didn't get a chance to take any pictures of the fair! I was able to get just a couple of pictures of people rushing home from work and a view of the city from my hotel room.

I truly loved this city. Comprising over 8 million people in the metropolitan area, Bogota sits over 8,000 feet above sea level. Occupying a high mountain savannah, the air is pretty thin up here. Tourists should definitely take it slow because of the altitude.

Bogotanos are extremely hard working and ambitious by nature. Everyone that I met was extremely gracious and friendly. The attendees at the college fair were no exception. I spoke to many impressive students who were anxious to start their MBA and were pleased with what they learned about the programs at the University of Dallas.

I can't wait to continue my conversations with them once I return to the office. If you have friends or family in Bogota who want to upgrade their career competitiveness with an MBA, please have them contact me!

How Timely!

From the Chronicle: Latin American Countries Push More Students to Study Abroad.

It's a fortunate thing that Roger is in Columbia and Peru this week.

You can contact Roger here: rfelipe@udallas.edu.  He would love to hear from you!

Upcoming Trip to Colombia & Peru

Would you or someone you know like to meet with me in Colombia or Peru? I will be in Bogotá, Colombia from August 10-11 and in Lima, Peru from August 12-15. I will have some time that I can reserve to meet with current or prospective students in either city. If you would like to meet with me, email me at rfelipe@udallas.edu .

If you know of anyone at either location who might be interested in learning about the University of Dallas, please give me their contact information or have them contact me (by email is the best method). I would love to meet with them and their families, talk about our degree programs, and explain the admission process to them.

While in each city, I would also like to visit universities that might have students who would like to study in the United States. If you have any suggestions about which ones to visit and who to speak to, I would love to hear from you!

A New Member in the UD College of Business Family!

Congratulations to Patrick & Olga Scott, here's their daughter Jordan!  Patrick is a student in the College of Business at UD.

She's a cutie, isn't she?

You can get your UD swag at the University of Dallas Bookstore.  Check it out:

Should you get an MBA?

So the question that I asked when I was a software engineer (in Singapore) and the economy was not going anywhere was "Should I go and get an MBA?". Little did I realize that it was more than a simple yes or no. I came across an article on ComputerWorld Magazine recently that digs deep into this question and provides some great insight.

Some Links of Interest:

I'll just throw out several links that have caught my eye today:

ROI's of Graduate Degrees

Amazon to start renting electronic textbooks

There is a change coming to the GMAT

The UD Experienced Professional MBA compares very favorably with the typical Executive MBA

After reading the article on the Executive MBA programs, you can learn more about our Experienced Professional MBA program by clicking here.

Please let me know through the comments if you see any other articles of interest.  We would love to get conversations started here!

A nice article for those who make presentations as part of their job interview

This article has a lot of straightforward advice on preparing for job interview presentations: Gadgets and the Job Search.  I didn't know, for example, that there are power ports under airline seats.

The Summer Wine Tasting Event

The University of Dallas College of Business hosted it's annual wine tasting event on July 14th.  Here are a few pictures from the event:

This event is a lot of fun for everyone involved.  It is purely a social occasion.  Most of the students stop by on their way to class.  There are, however, several more that make a special trip to campus that evening to participate.  The Braniff Foyer gets quite loud with all of the commotion.  We would love at our next wine tasting; so Apply Now!

Here's a topic of Interest

From Inside Higher Ed: The End of Subsidized Loans?

I'll go out on a limb here and say that this is very typical negotiating tactics for our two political parties. They each suggest we should cut the programs they think are most favored by their opponents. While this may have caused the few students' hearts to stop beating today, I don't think there is anything for you to be concerned about. Once the budget deal is inked, the student loan programs will be largely the same then as they are today.

What to expect from our blog

We have started this blog as a way to communicate with you on particular issues we encounter while working to get students admitted to the Graduate Programs of the University of Dallas College of Business. The blog will also give you an opportunity to ask questions of us as we discuss issues that confront all of us, student and administrator, of the University of Dallas community.

So welcome to our blog. Please leave a comment or two when visiting. We look forward to the conversation!