Working in partnership with St. Philip’s College, UH’s Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management will now offer the city’s only upper-level degree program.
A grand-opening celebration is planned for January 21 to mark the opening of the University of Houston Conrad N. Hilton College-San Antonio. Working in partnership with St. Philip’s College, which has been offering a two-year degree in various hospitality programs, the new program, as the only upper-level hospitality degree program in the city, will now give graduates from St. Philip’s, or other accredited two- or four-year institutions, the opportunity to transfer to UH-San Antonio to complete a Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management.
Course offerings include beverage management, restaurant layout and design, cost controls and wine appreciation, as well as a course about living and working in space. The program also includes a 300-hour practicum working in a hospitality setting.
“The name Hilton is synonymous with first-class hospitality, just like San Antonio,” said Dennis Reynolds, Dean of the UH Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management. “We are pleased to bring this business-minded program to San Antonio and to its future industry professionals.”
Richard Bundick, a senior who was one of the first 10 students to enroll at the college, and whose professional dream is to own his own food-and-beverage company, said the new college would make it possible for him to “have everything I need to turn my goals into realities, by ensuring I meet the right people and have the knowledge required.”
“I had a very difficult choice to make after getting my associate degree because I felt having a bachelor’s degree would better aid my career, but I wasn’t ready to leave San Antonio,” Burdick added. “Students are taught not only by experts who have doctorates in this field, but also by industry leaders working in the field.”
San Antonio boasts a thriving tourism and hospitality industry that, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Establishment Survey, is supported by more than 112,000 people who work in the industry—making it the third-largest industry in the area.
“The Conrad N. Hilton College-San Antonio will help local students further their education and take advantage of the many great opportunities this industry affords,” said Charles M. Wender, former chairman of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. “In turn, having the Hilton College campus in San Antonio will help support our very important hospitality and tourism industry.”
Graduates of the University of Houston’s hospitality program who hold prominent positions in club management include Marvin Jones, CCM, General Manager of the San Antonio (Texas) Country Club; C. J. (Joe) Bendy, CCM, CCE, Chief Operating Officer, River Oaks Country Club, Houston, Texas; Jonathan Shear, General Manager, The Bayou Club of Houston (Texas); Vincent J.C. Tracy, CCM, CCE, General Manager/COO of the Town & Country Club, St. Paul, Minn., and Wally Smith, General Manager & COO, The Missouri Athletic Club, St. Louis, Mo.
For more information about the University of Houston Conrad N. Hilton College-San Antonio, visit http://www.uh.edu/hilton-college/About/San-Antonio/
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