Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

$5M Grant Boosts Diversity and Inclusion at Cornell School of Hotel Administration

  • 12/14/15

ITHACA, NY – The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has awarded a $5 million grant to the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration (SHA) in support of diversity and inclusion initiatives, and student financial aid.

The five-year grant will allow SHA to expand recruitment initiatives to cultivate qualified applicants in targeted underserved markets. The funds will also provide scholarships for underrepresented and first-generation students to attend summer enrichment programs. In support of current students, the gift provides academic and non-academic support as a component of personal and professional development.

Most significantly, this gift will provide scholarship support for five or more students annually for five years, plus increase the reach of the existing Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Scholarship to support three or more students annually in perpetuity. Cornell University admits students based on qualifications, regardless of ability to pay. More than 60 percent of SHA students currently receive some form of financial aid, and the need continues to grow.

“Not only is providing financial aid support to our students a priority, it is also crucial that we invest in programs that ensure the students’ success,” says Michael D. Johnson, the Bradley H. Stone Dean and E. M. Statler Professor at SHA. “We look forward to partnering with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in helping deserving students from all backgrounds access the hospitality-focused business education only available at SHA.”

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation was created in 1944 by international business pioneer Conrad N. Hilton, who founded Hilton Hotels and left his fortune to help the world’s disadvantaged and vulnerable people. The Foundation currently conducts strategic initiatives in six priority areas: providing safe water, ending chronic homelessness, preventing substance use, helping children affected by HIV and AIDS, supporting transition-age youth in foster care, and extending Conrad Hilton’s support for the work of Catholic Sisters. In addition, following selection by an independent international jury, the Foundation annually awards the $2 million Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize to a nonprofit organization doing extraordinary work to reduce human suffering. From its inception, the Foundation has awarded more than $1 billion in grants, distributing $100 million in the U.S. and around the world in 2014. The Foundation’s current assets are approximately $2.5 billion. For more information, please visit www.hiltonfoundation.org.

Featured

  • Children walking along bright school corridor with motion blur

    How Next-Gen Design Is Reshaping the Student Experience

    The environments where students learn play a crucial role in shaping their growth in and out of the classroom. By centering design on well-being, flexibility, and purpose, districts can ensure their facilities remain vibrant community assets for many years to come.

  • Campus Safety Requires Using Every Resource Available

    Across the U.S., school and campus leaders are facing a security landscape that has changed dramatically over the past decade. Incidents on school property have increased in recent years, with several consecutive years setting record totals. According to analysis of data by CNN, dozens of shootings now occur on school grounds annually across K-12 and higher education environments.

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Education Design Showcase Awards

    Spaces4Learning has opened submissions for the 2026 Education Design Showcase! The awards program launched in 1999 with the goal of celebrating innovative, practical solutions in the planning, design, and construction of K–12 and higher-education facilities. EDS recognizes new developments that help achieve optimal learning environments, as well as the architecture firms that brought the ideas to life.

  • Moline-Coal Valley School District to Consolidate Two Schools into New Facility

    The Moline-Coal Valley School District in Moline, Ill., recently broke ground on a new elementary school that will consolidate the students and staff from two existing schools, according to local news. Robert Ontiveros Elementary School will serve as the new home for Lincoln-Irving Elementary School and Willard Elementary School.