On Saturday, the University of Central Arkansas presented its Distinguished Alumnus Award to Donald R. Horton, founder and board chairman of one of the top home-building companies in the country.
Horton is only the 19th individual in the history of the university to receive this distinction, joining the ranks of five-time NBA All-Star Scottie Pippen, former U.S. Ambassador to Argentina James Cheek, and former presidential domestic policy advisor Carol Rasco.
Horton enrolled at the University of Central Arkansas, then State College of Arkansas, in 1968. After three years, he transferred to pharmacy school at the University of Oklahoma, but soon decided against pharmacology as a career option.
In 1971, Horton and his wife, Marty, moved back to his hometown, Marshall, Ark., where he took over his father?s real estate business. Seven years later, the Horton family relocated to Ft. Worth, Texas, where Horton began his own construction business.
In 1987, he began expanding the operations by seeking out the nation?s most active homebuilding markets. The company now operates in 21 states and 63 markets across the United States.
In 1999, Professional Builder Magazine named D.R. Horton Inc. national Builder of the Year.
D.R. Horton Inc. is consistently listed as a Fortune 500 company. In 2000, the company was ranked No. 40 out of the top 500 in growth of profits over a five-year period. That ranking was ahead of companies such as Gap, MBNA, and Dupont, and just behind Charles Schwab, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble and Gateway.
This year, D.R. Horton Inc. set an industry record when it became the first builder to close more than 40,000 homes and sell more than 45,000 homes in a year. They currently rank No. 1 in home closings with annual revenues of $10.8 billion.
The company has a family business atmosphere. As an example, Horton established Camp Horton so children of employees could spend a week each summer on a several thousand-acre ranch at no cost.
The Distinguished Alumnus Award is the most prestigious award presented to an alumnus of UCA. According to the award criteria, ?A Distinguished Alumnus for the University of Central Arkansas is recognized for outstanding contribution to the university, community, state or society; outstanding achievement in a particular field of endeavor; possessing a reputation that enhances the reputation of the university and serves as an example to UCA students; and contributing to the goals or the welfare of the university.?
