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USF School of Hotel and Restaurant Management establishes first professorship

(Sarasota, FL, May 21, 2004) - John McKibbon, III has made a gift through his fund with the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, Inc. to the USF School of Hotel and Restaurant Management, establishing the first professorship in USF Sarasota-Manatee’s 30-year history.

McKibbon’s gift, combined with the State of Florida Matching Grant, will establish a $500,000 endowed professorship, designated the McKibbon Hotel Management Professorship. Endowed funds are managed by the USF Foundation and provide ongoing funds through investment earnings.

“This is an opportunity to help build the new School of Hotel and Restaurant Management with USF,” said McKibbon, CEO and chairman of Tampa-based McKibbon Hotel Management, Inc. “The hospitality industry continues to grow and nowhere is this more evident than in Florida. This school will provide the leadership, the guest relationship and the technology skills that are required for exemplary customer service. We are pleased to be a part of this new beginning.”

Launched in 2003, the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management is the only USF school beyond the Tampa campus. The school currently has 49 students enrolled and recently graduated its first student in spring 2004.

According to Jay Schrock, the school’s founding director, USF will benefit from McKibbon’s development of hotel-specific information technology.

“Foundations are built with industry and schools working together. Our industry partnership with McKibbon and the knowledge our students will glean from his information technology advances will raise the status of our institution,” Schrock said.

Students will learn about operating and accessing the hosting application software that is rapidly becoming the norm in the hotel industry. Programs developed by companies, such as M3 Accounting Services, are on the cutting edge of data technology management, and are used by more than 75 of the America’s best and most efficient hotel management companies.

“This gift demonstrates John McKibbon’s commitment to the industry and his confidence in the quality of programs put forth by USF Sarasota-Manatee. We are honored someone as distinguished in his field as McKibbon recognizes the USF School of Hotel and Restaurant Management is a valuable source of future employees for this fast-growing industry,” said Laurey Stryker, USF Sarasota-Manatee CEO who also serves as chair of the Sarasota County Committee on Economic Development.

The school has named John R. Walker as the first McKibbon Hotel Management Professor, bringing more than 21 years of teaching and consulting experience to the position. In addition, he is a leading author of several hospitality and tourism textbooks, many of which have been translated into several languages.

Walker has received numerous awards for teaching and service, and has taught seminars in Thailand, Mexico, Taiwan, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, England, Canada and the Philippines. He is past president of the Pacific chapter of the Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education (CHRIE), and holds several industry professional certifications.

“This gift is important as it lends credibility to our school and elevates its status, and I hope it will encourage future gifts,” Walker said. “Being appointed the McKibbon Hotel Management Professor is a great honor, which carries with it the commitment to do my very best to live up to John McKibbon’s reputation. He has established such a legacy, and others speak highly of him. He is an inspiration to us all.”

McKibbon is the third-generation head of a company founded in 1926 by his grandfather, Jack McKibbon, Sr. The organization has won many awards, including the Partnership Circle Award, Marriott’s highest honor. He serves as president of the Residence Inn by Marriott Franchise Association, and is actively involved in community organizations and boards.

McKibbon Hotel Management owns and operates 38 hotels in seven states through franchise agreements with Marriott, Hilton and Sheraton. Ten of those hotels are in the Tampa Bay-Sarasota area.

For more information on the USF School of Hotel and Restaurant Management, visit the Web site at www.sarasota.usf.edu.