University of Dallas MBA Students Create Lasting Change for the Town of Greenwood

Nine months before the town of Greenwood, Louisiana, unveiled their new logo, officials charged a team of University of Dallas MBA students with the task of collecting and analyzing community input for the design of the logo.

The goal: discover what makes Greenwood, Greenwood.

One of the MBA students on the consulting team, Marty Weisse, MBA ’17, played an integral role in the market research for the project, which included attending town hall meetings, conducting online surveys and urging residents to share their opinions through social media.  

“I enjoyed getting the responses to the surveys and talking with the citizens. The people were interested in moving their town forward — even though there were several points of view on how to do that,” said Weisse. “On the last day of the semester, we gave our presentation to the mayor and city officials.”

During their final year, MBA students at the University of Dallas are required to complete the Capstone Consulting Experience, where they apply their skills to an organization facing a challenging business problem.

The results from the Capstone team’s market research were then sent on to a branding company that designed the logo based on feedback from the community.

The new tree logo, which features a silhouette of a flourishing tree above the name of the town, was designed to symbolize several things unique and dear to the residents: the slower pace of rural life, abundant green space, and a place for families and businesses to put down roots. The logo was unveiled to the community at the 38th annual Pioneer Heritage Festival, an annual event held to celebrate the town’s heritage, in September.

“Seeing the logo gave me a feeling of accomplishment, that our work had a positive impact,” said Weisse.

University of Dallas Associate Professor Scott Wysong, Ph.D., who has both an MBA and a Ph.D. in marketing, was the faculty adviser for the project.

“In the Capstone Consulting Experience, we look to help any organization that needs our students’ expertise. In this case, the town of Greenwood didn’t have the resources to hire a marketing research firm, so they turned to us. And the students delivered,” said Wysong. “The mayor and other leaders of Greenwood were very pleased with all of the data collected and the recommendations made by the students.”

Learn more about the more than 900 projects that the Capstone Consulting Experience students have completed for local businesses, Fortune 1000 firms, entrepreneurial ventures and nonprofit organizations.