Sustaining School of Hospitality Management Students' Success

The Penn State School of Hospitality Management’s eighth annual crowdfunding campaign is titled Sustaining Student Success! All proceeds will go toward the Hospitality Management Students’ Success Fund.

Past support from donors has helped students achieve their academic dreams. Thank you for being a valued part of our community—alumni, industry partners, faculty, parents, students, and friends—who are helping to sustain student success and learning.

Support Our Students

Donor support helps School of Hospitality Management students in numerous ways, including student research, summer tuition assistance and scholarships, study abroad and conference travel, and competitions and certifications.

Remember attending or working Cafe Laura theme dinners or being a member of one of the school’s 13 professional student organizations? This past year, students hosted 36 theme dinners at Cafe Laura. Your support will sustain student success in these academic endeavors and more.

Student Research

Cutting-edge research takes place each day at the School of Hospitality Management. Students are investigating today's industry issues under the guidance of world-class faculty, and their insights will help operators make decisions in the best interest of their businesses.

As a donor, you help financially support the school’s Schreyer Honors Scholars and doctoral student theses and dissertations. In 2023-24, the school graduated four new doctorate students, who will teach at global universities, and four new Schreyer Honors Scholars.

Summer Tuition Assistance and Scholarships 

Summer tuition assistance can give a student peace of mind as they work toward becoming the next successful alum of the School of Hospitality Management. Students take summer courses for several reasons, including getting back on track after a family emergency, illness, or other unexpected disruption to their academic journey. The success of past crowdfunding campaigns has allowed the school to provide summer tuition support for all Hospitality Management majors who applied.

Study Abroad and Conference Travel 

Study abroad and conference travel experiences allow students to learn firsthand about the hospitality industry and connect with industry professionals. In addition to the cost of tuition, students are responsible for their own travel costs including flights, hotels, and conference fees to experience our embedded study abroad programs. Your generosity will allow the school to sustain the same number of student participants in these events since inflation has caused travel costs to rise. Over the past year, the school’s students have attended 17 professional industry conferences.

Competitions and Certifications

Industry sponsored competitions, such as the Smith Travel Research (STR) Student Market Competition, often require entry fees for students to participate. Donor support helps lessen the burden of these fees and offset certification fees for students enrolling in workshops and programs where they can earn digital badges.