The University of Dallas has announced the appointment of five new members to its Board of Trustees. Kevin Hasson, Fr. Greg Kelly, Bridgett Wagner (pictured right to left), Donna Weitzman and Lora Villarreal will begin their three-year terms immediately.
"We are proud to have these five exemplary individuals join our Board of Trustees," said President Thomas W. Keefe. "Their knowledge and experience will be invaluable as we work together toward the university's vision of being recognized regionally and nationally as a premier Catholic, liberal arts school and a first-choice institution for practice-oriented, professional business education."
Kevin Hasson is founder of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a non-partisan, public interest law firm representing people from all faith backgrounds. He also worked at Williams & Connolly, LLP. During the Reagan administration, he served as a legal counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice. Hasson earned a master's degree in theology and a law degree from the University of Notre Dame.
Fr. Greg Kelly, '78 and '82, is the vicar for clergy for the Catholic Diocese of Dallas. He also served as the university's chaplain, associate pastor of All Saints in Dallas and he was the founding pastor of St. Gabriel the Archangel parish in McKinney, Texas. Fr. Kelly earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy and a master of divinity degree from the University of Dallas.
Lora Villarreal is the executive vice president and chief people officer for Xerox Services. Villareal has more than 20 years of business, human resources and administration experience, and was named one of "Hispanic Business" magazine's "Top Five Hispanic Women of the Year" in 2008. She earned a master of science degree in administration and management from Central Michigan University and a doctorate in philosophy and management from California Coast University.
Bridgett Wagner, '81, is director of the Coalition Relations Department at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. She serves on the boards of the Dominican Foundation for the Province of St. Joseph and the State Policy Network, a network of more than 60 U.S. think tanks. Wagner holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Dallas.
Donna Weitzman is the former president of Encore Partners, LLC. Weitzman has held leadership roles in several Texas-based businesses over the last 15 years. From 1999-2003, she served as mayor of Colleyville, Texas. Weitzman has more than 15 years of experience in real estate investment and has studied at Harvard Business School.
In the current COVID-19 crisis, the love of Danny Fitzpatrick, BA '13, for Italy, appreciation for his time there, and a creative collaboration with sculptor Tim Schmalz have led to a specific way of rendering aid to the country beloved by so many UD alumni and one-time Romers.
+ Read MoreEdisson Ramos, BA '20, is one of many students receiving assistance from UD's COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund, which has currently raised nearly $90,000; the first of the funds were distributed last week to help students make their April rent, and Director of Financial Aid Taryn Anderson, BA '07, is in the process of distributing a second wave to students with housing or food insecurity or in need of Wi-Fi or other resources for online learning.
+ Read MoreIn our current condition, with most of the U.S. sheltering in place and/or learning and working from our homes, it's hard to imagine that just 20 days ago, teachers and those aspiring to be teachers gathered together for the fourth annual Excellence in Education conference at the University of Dallas, organized, run and sponsored by UD's Education Department, but so they did, and so we will all do -- gather together, that is -- some day again.
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