Submitted by Ricky Parker, C'08, Communications and Marketing Committee

As Virginia Union University continues the strive for “best in class,” the university sees an opportunity to expand its academic offering by including a hospitality management program in its business school.

As a part of this effort, VUU is planning for the program to be anchored with a new, student-run hotel near the Carver neighborhood that would be open to the public.

“The hospitality management program in the Sydney Lewis School of Business at Virginia Union University is growing and we are excited to help prepare the next generation of hospitality management executives for this most innovative and thriving industry sector,” said its Dean, Dr. Robin Davis.

Initially considered for a planned expansion of VUU’s campus on the former site of the Budget Inn of Richmond, the hotel concept is now being planned for the site of C.D. King Hall, a university-owned administrative building at Lombardy and Leigh Street.

VUU enlisted Retro Hospitality, a Richmond-based management group whose clients include Quirk Hotel, to complete a feasibility study for the hotel project.

Recently, the School of Business has launched three degree tracks in hospitality management: a bachelor’s, master’s, and an executive MBA with a hospitality management concentration.