WORTH SUPPORTING
Hilton Foundation grant will support hotel school students
With a new grant of $1 million from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Cornell's School of Hotel Administration (SHA) has established the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Scholarship fund for undergraduate students. The two-year scholarship will cover tuition support for 10 to 50 students each year and comes at a time when the need for financial aid is at an unprecedented high.
"Financial aid support is one of our top fundraising priorities," says Michael D. Johnson, dean and E.M. Statler Professor at SHA, "and we extend our deepest gratitude to the Hilton Foundation for this generous gift, one of the largest scholarship gifts in the school's history."
More than 60 percent of SHA students receive some form of financial aid, and, because of the compounding effect of tuition increases and the current financial crisis, the demand is growing.
"Only a portion of SHA's financial aid budget is met through scholarships," Johnson says. "The remaining funds come out of our operating budget. Thanks to the Hilton Foundation grant and similar gifts, we can continue our need-blind admissions practice while also investing in faculty, academic programs and facilities."
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation was created in 1944 by its namesake, who founded Hilton Hotels and left his fortune to help the world's disadvantaged and vulnerable people.