Purdue News

November 20, 2000 Marriott Foundation gives $1 million for 'super' classroom WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A state-of-the-art teaching laboratory-classroom is $1 million closer to reality for the Purdue University Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management thanks to a gift from the J.W. and Alice S. Marriott Family Foundation. Purdue President Martin C. Jischke cited the contribution as an example of partnerships at work. "The hospitality industry is the largest private employer in the United States," Jischke said. "The Marriott Foundation's grant to Purdue will ultimately benefit the department's continued excellence as well as our students' academic and professional success. That, in turn, helps the entire hospitality and tourism industry, which counts on Purdue to provide many of its professional employees." The $1 million grant is the single largest contribution the department has received to date, said Raphael R. Kavanaugh, professor and department head. "It is the result of our longstanding, positive relationships within the hospitality industry, as well as with the Marriott Foundation," he said. Kavanaugh praised the Marriott Foundation's Executive Board for its consistent support of education and its desire to improve the professionalism of the entire hospitality industry. J. Willard Marriott Jr., an executive board member, received the Pioneer Educator Award from the Council of Hospitality and Institutional Educators earlier this year at its annual convention, Kavanaugh noted. Marriott said the foundation was pleased to be able to lend support to Purdue's hospitality program. "The hospitality industry loves to recruit the students educated at Purdue," Marriott said. Purdue has been an industry leader in the development of talent for nearly 75 years and its students become leaders in the industry as well." "Our family is excited about the work Purdue does preparing students dedicated to top quality service, a broad range of skills and practical experience. We recognized the university's grant proposal as an opportunity to make a positive difference," Marriott said. The $1 million grant will help build a theater-style demonstration classroom. The 125-seat auditorium will be used for culinary art demonstrations and other hospitality-tourism department instructional activities, including multimedia presentations and satellite uplink/downlink transmissions for distance learning programs. The grant will be payable over 10 years in annual $100,000 increments beginning in 2001. Kavanaugh said the new classroom's location has not been determined. The demonstration classroom would work in conjunction with a quantity food production kitchen that would support the department's John Purdue Room restaurant, which is operated by students. In September, the Indiana State Commission of Higher Education approved a doctoral program for Purdue's Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management. The doctorate degree adds to the department's undergraduate curriculum that includes management, economics, food sciences, food engineering, statistics, consumer behavior and marketing courses. Purdue's undergraduate and graduate programs are ranked consistently in the top five nationally, according to Cornell University surveys of educators and industry executives. Approximately 550 undergraduates and 50 graduates are enrolled in the department located in the Purdue School of Consumer and Family Sciences. Sources: Raphael R. Kavanaugh, (765) 494-4643, kavanaur@purdue.edu Writer: Grant Flora, (765) 494-2073, gflora@purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page