It's time to report on the progress towards establishing a
four-year Hospitality Management degree at the OSU-Cascades campus in Bend. The program’s leader, Todd Montgomery, recently gave a presentation to program stakeholders, of which ORLA’s a major stakeholder in the reestablishment of this program having led the
fundraising to enable the university to hire Todd.
Oregon lost its hospitality management program in the early
90s when Oregon State University closed its program due to low participation
and a budget-cutting program dictated by recessionary times. The result was a
steady exodus of college students to programs elsewhere in the country -
especially to WSU and Nevada Las Vegas’ programs here in the West. Much too
often these students found jobs in other states and didn’t return home. This
brain drain certainly was a detriment to our industry and was frequently
bemoaned by industry members as I interacted with them.
Dr. Becky Johnson who heads up the OSU-Cascades campus came
to visit me several years ago with a request for assistance in getting the
Hospitality Management degree reinstituted. Funds were needed to pay for the
hiring of a second, and lead, professor to enable the university to offer all
the classes required for the major. Funding for a three-year period at $100,000
annually was necessary to allow the program to be designed, approved and
implemented. The business plan calls for the tuition paid by the students
enrolled in the major to eventually fund the professor’s salary after the
three-year period is up.
I agreed to call industry leaders around the state with the
assistance of Julie Hotchkiss, OSU-Cascades Director of Development, to see if
there was interest to fund this effort. The test was to call on ten potential
funders and ascertain their interest and support; the request was for $5,000
per year for three years. We made our calls, and to our delight received a
positive answer from eight of the first ten calls. Julie and I proceeded to
raise over $300,000 in the next year with the first pledges paid in early 2013.
I’m happy to report that this stage is nearing completion
and classes should begin in the fall of 2014. The degree will be housed in
OSU’s School of Business and the students completing the course will receive a
Hospitality Management degree with a minor in Business.
We’re very excited about the reestablishment of this degree
in Oregon. Bend is a wonderful location as it provides a vibrant hospitality
industry that will allow for the inclusion of internship requirements for the
degree. The resorts, attractions, restaurants, lodging facilities, breweries
and outdoor offerings will provide a rich and varied internship experience for
the students pursuing this degree. The result will be students entering the
workforce with a degree that directly applies to the hospitality industry from
an Oregon-based university, thus providing the industry with an annual supply
of well-trained management applicants to hire.
ORLA is proud to have played a role in the
development of what we think will be a major asset for the industry for years
to come. The real thanks goes to the following industry partners who stepped up
to fund the development of this program when asked: ORLA Education Foundation,
Elmer’s, Shari’s, Bon Appetit Management Co., Bargreen Ellingson, Liberty
Mutual Insurance, The Dussin Group (Old Spaghetti Factory), Food Services of
America, Jubitz Foundation, Bennington Properties, Black Butte Ranch, Tom &
Stacy Luerson, Navis Inc., the Oxford Hotel Group and Baney Family, and
Sunriver Resort.
Thank these good folks when you see them as they’ve done a
really wonderful thing for our industry. | Steve McCoid, President & CEO, ORLA
