ARLINGTON, Texas – Dan Dipert, founder of Dan Dipert Coaches, is the namesake of a new technical center opened by the Arlington Independent School District.
The Dan Dipert Career and Technical Center, which offers state-of-the-art courses in career and technical fields to all district high schools, was officially dedication last month during ceremonies attended by city, school and state officials.
Dipert, a member of the United Motorcoach Association and one of Arlington’s most well-known business leaders and philanthropists, has been active in the community and especially in education since moving his family there in 1964.
He previously served two terms on the AISD Board of Trustees.
Dipert was a youth minister at First Baptist Church when he moved to Arlington. In 1972, he left the church, purchased a small travel agency from a local bank and turned it into a multimillion-dollar travel and tour business that is now one of the most respected motorcoach operations in the United States.
During the dedication ceremony for the career center, Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams noted that the Dipert family formed the Dan Dipert Family Fund to benefit Arlington causes and currently supports the AISD Education Foundation.
“And the Arlington ISD Dan Dipert Career and Technical Center will further build on the dream that Dan Dipert has for all students of AISD, and his legacy will be experienced by generations to come,” Williams said.
Texas State Representative Chris Turner said that whether it is Dipert’s leadership in business, education or the nonprofit arena, “I think the question that drives Dan Dipert’s generous spirit is not just how do I give back, but also how do I create more opportunity for others to be successful, and there is no better way to create those than to create those opportunities and to support public education.”
“It is his passion. I would go so far as to say that if every school district in the state of Texas had a patron saint like Dan Dipert, our state would be a lot better off,” Turner said.
The 169,800-square-foot center accommodates 4,800 students every two days in programs such as animation, architecture, automotive, biomedical science, broadcasting, cosmetology, construction, culinary/hospitality, engineering, entrepreneurship, Fire Academy, graphic design, health sciences, horticulture, information technology, law enforcement, photography, precision manufacturing and welding.
Dipert’s philanthropic activities aren’t focused only on education. He also was the lead donor for the Dan Dipert Student Welcome Center at the University of Texas at Arlington and the Dipert Family Chapel at Health South Arlington Memorial Hospital.
The University of Texas at Arlington and the Dallas/Fort Worth Chambers of Commerce awarded him the Mid-Cities Entrepreneurial Achievement Award in 1995, and he received the Star Award from the Arlington Chamber of Commerce in 2015.
