{"id":857,"date":"2025-03-18T11:01:58","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T12:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/?p=857"},"modified":"2025-03-20T12:56:40","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T12:56:40","slug":"sps-and-marriott-foundation-launch-5-million-hospitality-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/18\/sps-and-marriott-foundation-launch-5-million-hospitality-program\/","title":{"rendered":"SPS and Marriott Foundation launch $5 million hospitality program"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The NYU School of Professional Studies has partnered with The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation to create a <\/span>$5 million apprenticeship fund<\/span><\/a> for students pursuing an associate of applied science in hospitality, with the degree offering set to launch in the spring 2026 semester.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Through the Workforce Apprentice Program, incoming SPS students will be able to complete up to 30 credits \u2014 half of what is needed to earn an associate\u2019s degree \u2014 through a mentorship-focused work experience in the hospitality industry. The program will operate in tandem with New York City mayor Eric Adams\u2019 \u201c<\/span>Apprenticeship Accelerator<\/span><\/a>,\u201d a 2023 initiative to support apprenticeships for 30,000 residents by 2030.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SPS dean Angie Kamath said that with the new associate degree offering, the school\u2019s Tisch Center of Hospitality aims to demonstrate that people who are curious about careers in hospitality can holistically explore the industry with both job and classroom experience through a two-year program.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are able to help attract a creative pathway into great living wages and sustainable jobs that are in demand in the hospitality industry,\u201d Kamath said in an interview with WSN. \u201cIt\u2019s an affordable, flexible, career-oriented way to earn an academic credential \u2014 we\u2019re really excited to partner with The Marriott Foundation to create this program.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kamath added that citywide and local businesses that are seeking apprentices in line with Adams\u2019 goal will ideally recruit SPS students pursuing associate\u2019s degrees, effectively increasing workforce accessibility \u2014 a key part of the mayor\u2019s initiative. <\/span>Over 15,000 apprenticeship opportunities<\/span><\/a> had been created within nearly three years of the Apprenticeship Accelerator\u2019s launch. Most recently, <\/span>Adams invested $2.1 million<\/span><\/a> to establish apprenticeships for certain positions, such as nursing assistants and childcare workers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Associate hospitality students will have access to career services, the opportunity to study abroad and for-credit internships at large-scale companies like Madison Square Garden and Millennium Hotels and Resorts, as detailed on the <\/span>SPS\u2019 website<\/span><\/a>. Brian Barker \u2014 a clinical associate professor of hospitality and leading faculty member of the new degree program \u2014 was also named the first executive director of apprenticeship and workforce development.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

NYU will collaborate with the AHLA Foundation \u2014 which aims to increase retention in the hotel industry to fight a <\/span>national workforce shortage<\/span><\/a> \u2014 the consulting company AHEAD and other major hospitality firms to connect SPS students with apprenticeship roles that introduce them to the industry and foster professional satisfaction. The Marriott Foundation will only fund the program and have no input on the apprenticeships themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

Marriott Foundation CEO Mieka Wick told WSN that the nonprofit\u2019s goal for its partnership with NYU is to diversify the hospitality industry and demonstrate that its scope expands beyond service jobs like receptionists or housekeepers to customer service as a whole.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs an apprentice, you\u2019re getting exposed to the 360-degree view of the job or the industry, and then really finding what resonates with you most,\u201d Wick said. \u201cWe believe that people will have a much deeper and more meaningful exposure to what it means to work in hospitality.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This is The Marriott Foundation\u2019s third collaboration with an academic institution. In 2021, it joined Howard University, a historically Black school, to establish the <\/span>Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership<\/span><\/a> \u2014 which aims to use a $20 million endowment to diversify the hospitality workforce. The organization also dedicated <\/span>$3 million to the University of Utah<\/span><\/a> in 2009 to finance scholarships for music and performing arts students.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is really important for young people to have the ability to not just sit in the classroom,\u201d Kamath said. \u201cThey will also be spending time at a work site where they can reinforce their learning, bring in new ideas and challenges into the classroom and really supercharge their learning.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Contact Graylin Lucas at news@nyunews.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

This story SPS and Marriott Foundation launch $5 million hospitality program<\/a> appeared first on Washington Square News<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The NYU School of Professional Studies has partnered with The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation to create a $5 million apprenticeship fund for students pursuing an associate of applied science in hospitality, with the degree offering set to launch in the spring 2026 semester.\u00a0 Through the Workforce Apprentice Program, incoming SPS students will be able to complete up to 30 credits \u2014 half of what is needed to earn an associate\u2019s degree \u2014 through a mentorship-focused work experience in the hospitality industry. The program will operate in tandem with New York City mayor Eric Adams\u2019 \u201cApprenticeship Accelerator,\u201d a 2023 initiative to support apprenticeships for 30,000 residents by 2030.\u00a0 SPS dean Angie Kamath said that with the new associate degree offering, the school\u2019s Tisch Center of Hospitality aims to demonstrate that people who are curious about careers in hospitality can holistically explore the industry with both job and classroom experience through a two-year program. \u201cWe are able to help attract a creative pathway into great living wages and sustainable jobs that are in demand in the hospitality industry,\u201d Kamath said in an interview with WSN. \u201cIt\u2019s an affordable, flexible, career-oriented way to earn an academic credential \u2014 we\u2019re really excited to partner with The Marriott Foundation to create this program.\u201d\u00a0 Kamath added that citywide and local businesses that are seeking apprentices in line with Adams\u2019 goal will ideally recruit SPS students pursuing associate\u2019s degrees, effectively increasing workforce accessibility \u2014 a key part of the mayor\u2019s initiative. Over 15,000 apprenticeship opportunities had been created within nearly three years of the Apprenticeship Accelerator\u2019s launch. Most recently, Adams invested $2.1 million to establish apprenticeships for certain positions, such as nursing assistants and childcare workers.\u00a0\u00a0 Associate hospitality students will have access to career services, the opportunity to study abroad and for-credit internships at large-scale companies like Madison Square Garden and Millennium Hotels and Resorts, as detailed on the SPS\u2019 website. Brian Barker \u2014 a clinical associate professor of hospitality and leading faculty member of the new degree program \u2014 was also named the first executive director of apprenticeship and workforce development.\u00a0 NYU will collaborate with the AHLA Foundation \u2014 which aims to increase retention in the hotel industry to fight a national workforce shortage \u2014 the consulting company AHEAD and other major hospitality firms to connect SPS students with apprenticeship roles that introduce them to the industry and foster professional satisfaction. The Marriott Foundation will only fund the program and have no input on the apprenticeships themselves. Marriott Foundation CEO Mieka Wick told WSN that the nonprofit\u2019s goal for its partnership with NYU is to diversify the hospitality industry and demonstrate that its scope expands beyond service jobs like receptionists or housekeepers to customer service as a whole. \u201cAs an apprentice, you\u2019re getting exposed to the 360-degree view of the job or the industry, and then really finding what resonates with you most,\u201d Wick said. \u201cWe believe that people will have a much deeper and more meaningful exposure to what it means to work in hospitality.\u201d This is The Marriott Foundation\u2019s third collaboration with an academic institution. In 2021, it joined Howard University, a historically Black school, to establish the Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership \u2014 which aims to use a $20 million endowment to diversify the hospitality workforce. The organization also dedicated $3 million to the University of Utah in 2009 to finance scholarships for music and performing arts students.\u00a0 \u201cIt is really important for young people to have the ability to not just sit in the classroom,\u201d Kamath said. \u201cThey will also be spending time at a work site where they can reinforce their learning, bring in new ideas and challenges into the classroom and really supercharge their learning.\u201d Contact Graylin Lucas at news@nyunews.com. This story SPS and Marriott Foundation launch $5 million hospitality program appeared first on Washington Square News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=857"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":860,"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857\/revisions\/860"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jtotheb.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}