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Graduate School of Management Commencement Ceremony
Commencement will take place Friday, April 18, at 7:00 p.m. in the University of Dallas Maher Athletic Center. The ceremony usually lasts 1-2 hours. Campus Map
Graduates must arrive at the Haggar University Center by 6:00 p.m. for graduation line-up. Bring your cap and gown and leave other non-essential items with family or friends. Please wear your cap and gown and hand-carry your hood as you will be "hooded" on stage.
At line-up, you will receive a card with your name and number. The number on your card refers to the order in which you will walk in the processional. It is important that you stay in numerical order during the line-up and procession.
We do not use tickets for commencement guests but respectfully request that graduates limit their number of guests to 8. Seating is "first come, first serve".
Milestone Multimedia Solutions, LLC provides the photography for commencement. You may schedule a photography session in advance or take photos the day of commencement. Photos will also be taken as you are "hooded" and exit the stage.
Diplomas are given out at graduation unless you have a hold on your account. If you are not attending graduation, your diploma may be mailed to you by contacting the Registrar's Office at 972.721.5221. You will need to provide your name, student ID number, graduation term, and mailing address. Please note that diplomas are NOT mailed to apartment addresses. You may not receive your diploma until after they are conferred at commencement.
Carl Westcott
In April 2003 Carl Westcott was honored during an Inaugural Ceremony at the United States Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. by receiving the 2003 Horatio Alger Award. Since 1947 the Horatio Alger Award has been bestowed upon only 576 honorees – people of exceptional character worthy of the highest recognition for career achievement in America.
Westcott’s outstanding career began with the acquisition of a small Chevrolet dealership in 1967 in Tallulah, Louisiana. By 1979 Westcott owned and operated 17 franchised dealerships representing multiple brands across the United States including major markets such as Los Angeles, Dallas and Atlanta. Westcott’s management model proved replicable, well before the centrally controlled dealership group became common. All dealerships were executive managed from a headquarters in Dallas.
With industry-wide perspective, Carl Westcott identified the emerging consumer-driven demand for the extension of automotive factory warranty terms. In response, he formed First Extended Service Corporation in 1974, becoming the world’s originator of extended automotive service agreements for new automobiles. By the late eighties First Extended was generating in excess of 50,000 service agreements per month across 50 states. First Extended generated over 6 million service agreements under Westcott’s leadership, demonstrating yearly growth until the business was sold to global insurance giant, AON in 2001.
In 1979 Westcott founded what would become the prime resource for special occasion delivery gifts in the US. After a challenging hotel-bound attempt to send flowers to his wife, Carl Westcott acquired the now famous telephone number 1-800-FLOWERS and built a networked business around the intuitive concept. Linking florists across the US, 1-800-FLOWERS remains the prime resource for flower gift-givers nationwide.
In 1986 Westcott founded KETK, the NBC television station in Tyler, Texas. Through innovation and visionary programming, KETK became the second most watched television station in East Texas by 1988.
While various automobile manufacturers were interested in providing satellite-enabled distance learning services to their franchised dealers and had been studying the concept for quite some time, spending millions in the process, no one they had produced operative results. Carl Westcott succeeded, founding the Automotive Satellite Television Network in 1986. ASTN’s revenues exceeded 11 million dollars and growth was accelerating by the end of 1987. By 1988 ASTN had acquired over 3,500 automotive industry subscribers in the US and Canada and built a state-of-the-art 70,000 square foot production facility in Dallas, Texas.
Westcott’s impressive track record at ASTN earned him the distinction of “Entrepreneur of the Year” in 1988, as awarded by the prestigious Arthur M. Young Society.
Expanding into 27 other interactive distance learning applications, ASTN evolved into Westcott Communications and expanded programming into broad categories including Executive and Professional, Government and Public Service, Healthcare, Education and Financial Services. For the first time ever, top business schools such as University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, University of Southern California, University of Notre Dame and the Kenan-Flagler School at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill provided executive education with unprecedented access to Fortune 1000 multinational corporations. Fire and rescue personnel nationwide gained immediate access to the latest training, saving lives in the process. Financial Services professionals from coast-to-coast learned new ways to best serve their clients needs, with access to industry icons.
Timing and innovation paid dividends. Westcott Communications experienced explosive growth and Westcott took the company public in 1989. Revenue growth continued at a 29% average annual rate from 1991 until 1996. Westcott Communications had grown to over 1,000 employees and services routinely reached tens of millions of business professionals in their workplaces.
Carl Westcott sold Westcott Communications to a unit of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) in 1996. Today Westcott Communications continues to touch millions of professionals under a new name Trinity Workplace Learning.
Westcott LLC was formed in 1996 to act as an entrepreneurial private equity platform for new ventures. With deep roots in the automotive, satellite communications, insurance, Internet and real estate businesses, Westcott is well positioned to exploit emerging opportunities.
Westcott LLC has managed venture investments such as Internet America, one of the nation’s premier regional Internet Service Providers (ISP). By 1997 Westcott had a 60% ownership stake in a fast-growing ISP that ultimately went public in 1999. At the time Carl Westcott sold his majority stake in Internet America.
Most recently Westcott was a majority shareholder in Digital Witness which was formed in 2001 to develop and market video software solutions. The company was acquired by Westec Interactive Security, Inc. in November 2007. Today, Digital Witness provides revolutionary video monitoring technologies and services that enable businesses to acquire video and audio data from multiple locations. Over 1,000 business entities utilize Digital Witness to acquire and distribute this information to district and corporate managers to enhance management efficiencies, increase marketing effectiveness and augment security and loss prevention measures.
Carl and his wife Jimmy are well-recognized philanthropists and involved community volunteers. He serves or has served on various boards, including: First USA Bank, The Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. The aptly named Westcott Foundation provides assistance to underprivileged children, while the Westcott Pro-Am funds inner-city golf programs to provide relief from poverty and a positive experience to those less fortunate. Westcott’s significant contributions to children’s interests have been honored by distinguished recognition of the highest order, including the 1999 Byron Nelson Award.
Carl Westcott’s track record as an entrepreneur, visionary and leader is proof of his outstanding native judgement, his ability to see beyond, his ability to inspire and his ability to apply wisdom gained from experience. Anyone who does business with Westcott or his associates is impressed by their integrity. Among the world’s most successful, few have proven their abilities with such repeated success or on such a grand scale.
Fall 2007 Speaker
Summer 2007 Speaker
Spring 2007 Speaker
Fall 2006 Speaker
If you need special accommodations while on the University of Dallas campus, please contact Nicole Anderson.
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