UA’s Restaurant, Hotel Management Program Celebrates 25th Anniversary with Lectures, Inductions

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Restaurant, Hotel and Meetings Management Program in the College of Human Environmental Sciences at The University of Alabama is celebrating its Silver Anniversary.

Established in 1985, the program has grown each year to a fall 2010 enrollment of 370 students, the largest program in the college.

As part of the 25^thAnniversary celebration, the Shila Bowron/Red Diamond Hospitality Leadership Series will be held Thursday, Oct. 14 at the Child Development Research Center on the University campus. C. Kemmons Wilson Jr., principal and executive vice president of Kemmons Wilson Inc., and Roy W. (Robbie) Roberston, president and CEO of The Colonnade Group, Birmingham, will be speakers for the event.

Wilson and Robertson will be inducted into The University of Alabama Hospitality Hall of Fame at the conclusion of the Leadership Series.

The mission of the Restaurant, Hotel and Meetings Management Program program is to “educate future leaders for the hospitality and tourism industries” by creating successful mangers and future executives for positions in restaurants, hotel and lodging properties, convention bureaus, conference and meeting centers, private clubs, commercial, institutional and healthcare food services, and contract management companies through intensive academic courses and work experiences in approved practicums and internships.

The RHM program has seven full-time faculty and 10 adjunct faculty teaching more than 32  hospitality related courses, from hospitality law to event leadership, programming and problem solving. The program is available to students on campus through traditional classroom learning as well as through distance learning.

Students may also become a Certified Hospitality Supervisor or a Manage First Professional through the American Hotel and Lodging Association and the National Restaurant Association prior to graduation.

For additional information, go to www.ches.ua.edu/rhm