Successful serial hospitality entrepreneur Carla McFarland and devoted alumnus Dan J. Price have been added as new members of the Board of Trustees. 

McFarland is a principal consultant with Alrac LLC, an entrepreneurial enterprise established in 2007. Price is serving a three-year term as an alumni representative trustee. Price retired after a 33-year career with Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

Rose-Hulman President Robert A. Coons said, “Carla and Dan are deeply passionate about Rose-Hulman and upholding the traits of our rich heritage. I look forward to their contributions as we establish and implement new strategic initiatives to remain an institution that’s a leader in undergraduate STEM education with a strong return on investment.”

McFarland, a resident of Alpine, Texas, has consulted extensively in the bar, restaurant, and hotel business sector, and established the first AirBnB management company in Texas’ Big Bend Trans-Pecos region. She and her family helped restore the historic Holland Hotel in Alpine before it was sold in 2006. McFarland then formed a historic renovation company and a boutique real-estate investment partnership, with holdings in Texas and Indiana.

She proudly earned the distinction as a Yellow Rose of Texas, an honorary title conferred by the governor of Texas to women for their exceptional community service and business leadership. McFarland is currently the treasurer of the Sul Ross State University Foundation, has been active in her local Chamber of Commerce, and has mentored several high school students over the years toward success in a variety of career fields. She herself earned a bachelor’s degree at Rice University and a Master of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University.

McFarland’s association with Rose-Hulman comes from her membership in the Sawmill Angels, a group of alumni and entrepreneurs that’s supporting alumni-led startups, especially among younger alumni. She also has provided philanthropic support to Rose-Hulman’s diversity efforts, student counseling services operations, and student competition teams.

“I have travelled to remote parts throughout the world and witnessed first-hand the efforts of climate change. This has impacted my commitment toward STEM education. I’m certain that Rose-Hulman students are the folks who will save our world,” said McFarland. “I wholeheartedly support Rose-Hulman’s student-centered mission and its focus on undergraduate education and want to help the Institute prepare for a more promising future.”

Price, a 1975 civil engineering alumnus, retired in 2008 as director of Procter & Gamble’s global quality assurance operations for baby care and feminine care products. He also had leadership roles for the company’s global and domestic production supplies of juice beverages, family care, coffee, and peanut butter products.

A native of Brazil, Indiana, Price’s commitment to Rose-Hulman has included eight years of service on the Alumni Advisory Board, including being president and an executive committee member; a Class of 1975 agent and reunion chair; and master of ceremony for the annual Alumni Awards program. He also helped recruit Rose-Hulman students to work with Procter & Gamble, hosted special events for prospective students and alumni from the Cincinnati area, and served on committees helping establish alumni support for Rose-Hulman’s Vision to be the Best and Mission Driven fundraising campaigns. Price earned Rose-Hulman’s Career Achievement Award in 1993.

“Rose-Hulman has always been a special place for me and my family, and I have done everything I could to support it. I’m looking forward to being an alumni voice to the Board of Trustees,” says Price, whose brother, Ritchie, is a 1974 mechanical engineering alumnus. “I join my fellow alumni in being extremely proud of Rose-Hulman’s growing national reputation and want to help it take the steps necessary to achieve even higher aspirations.” Dan and his wife, Elise, established an endowed scholarship fund to provide financial support for students from Clay, Parke, Vermillion, or Putnam counties to attend Rose-Hulman.

Price has served on a variety of community and company advisory boards during the past 48 years, including the United Way, American Red Cross, and church organizations, and has been a youth sports coach and official. He also has traveled to India, Nicaragua, and the Philippines as part of religious missions, and has been a strategic account advisor for retirees like himself who are seeking short-term work assignments.