Louisville’s tourism industry has an economic impact of $4.2 billion annually, with nearly 70,000 people in the area working in the industry. As visitor demand and the city’s tourism infrastructure increase, the workforce must grow proportionately to meet guest expectations. The new minor in hospitality management is a collaborative effort of the UofL College of Business, Louisville Tourism and the Louisville Hotel Partnership.

“Collaborating with the University of Louisville marks a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to enhance the hospitality industry in Louisville,” said Cleo Battle, president and CEO of Louisville Tourism. “By combining our resources and expertise, we aim to provide students with hands-on experience and practical insights into the travel, tourism and hospitality industries, preparing them for successful careers. In turn, this initiative will also benefit our community by fostering a well-trained workforce in a sector that continues to grow locally.”

The minor, housed within the UofL College of Business and open to students in any major, will include courses on event management, hospitality operations, revenue management, sales and tourism marketing and will offer invaluable experiential learning opportunities facilitated by industry partners.

“The collaboration reflects UofL’s commitment to fostering industry-relevant education and ensuring graduates are well prepared to meet the demands of the rapidly growing hospitality sector,” said Ryan Quinn, chair of the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship at UofL, who will oversee the new program. “This minor will provide many new career options. Whether you are a student in the College of Business or any other college on campus, if you want to go into the hospitality management industry, this minor will give you another option for your career and an ‘in’ to the specifics of this industry.”

The Louisville Hotel Partnership is key to ensuring the program’s relevancy and success. The partnership provided a $500,000 gift to UofL to help fund the development of the new minor.

“We are proud to support this innovative collaboration, which will strengthen both the hospitality sector and student opportunities. The hospitality minor will create a robust pipeline and deeper talent pool which is crucial to growing Louisville’s hotel industry workforce while equipping students with lifelong skill sets that will make them more marketable upon graduation,” said Eamon O’Brien, Louisville Hotel Partnership board chair and general manager of the Omni Louisville Hotel.

At��UofL, industry partnerships��help��make that happen.����

Faculty, staff and��students routinely��team��up with industry partners to��launch��their ideas,��cultivating them��into tangible realities��that improve lives, connect us to our local and global community and prepare students for the workforce with first-hand experience.����

Pushing��health and energy��forward��

UofL responded to the��COVID-19 outbreak��in many ways,��including����to increase��personal protective equipment, which was in short supply for health care professionals in the beginning of the crisis. Researchers at UofL teamed up with��Advanced Energy Materials (ADEM),��to develop and patent��the��technology��to create��the��masks and��AdhviQ,��which��manufactures and sells the finished products��right on UofL’s Belknap campus.��This partnership is a��shining��example of how an idea��and research,��met with industry capability,��can improve lives and��health.��

UofL researchers are also teaming up with��iTolerance��Inc.��to����and��Senda��Biosciences��to����—��by using the natural lipids in plants such as grapefruit and ginger.��������

A partnership with startup��BioProducts��allowed researchers��to develop��, which��also results in a��bio-mass��“coal”��alternative��that��could��potentially��help the environment.��To further its clean energy efforts, UofL researchers and��partners��reimagined the newspaper printing press by using the same roll-to-roll technology to����

In��one of our flashier��partnerships, UofL��researchers��joined forces��with��Kentucky Advanced Materials Manufacturing (KAMM)��to��.�������Ѳ�’s��Louisville facility is��the foundation of a billion-dollar worldwide effort to grow large diamond stones, and��one of only a handful of global��facilities��in this highly advanced field.��

Empowering students with the skills of tomorrow��

UofL’s partnership with Adobe��has��put Louisville on the map as a place where students are��provided��access to affordable technology and opportunities to hone the tech skills required in a modern workforce.����

As the��, all UofL��students, faculty and staff��are offered��the full collection of Creative Cloud applications, including��Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Adobe XD and Spark.��By��providing��this��access, UofL is��actively advancing digital literacy skills to give students an edge in��competitive��jobs.��

In an effort to��close the skills gap,��, housed on Belknap campus. The��academy will provide curriculum and educational tools concentrated on fast-growing technology areas, placing students at the forefront of the future workforce and��boosting��economic development in the area.��

��also gives students a��leg up��by preparing them for��future careers and providing the opportunity to graduate debt free.��The Metropolitan College program��allows college students to work the third shift at UPS, which then gives students��a paycheck and covers their tuition and fees.����

By bringing industry��onto campus, UofL ensures students��participate in��experiential learning, placing them��in the middle of the action.����an on-campus customer service center focused on health services with industry leader Cardinal Health,��at��nearby��Hive��to create healthcare technology solutions��and����by��developing new products��at��, the��GE-backed��makerspace and��microfactory��on Belknap Campus.����

Pushing the boundaries of innovation��

These��collaborations��help��, inviting more industry leaders to invest in our community and boost the local economy.��

UofL is dedicated to enhancing Kentucky’s position as a technology hub and����in a government-backed effort��to��bring technologies born��in the Commonwealth��to market��and partnered with other academic institutions��and��XLerateHealth��LLC��to����aimed at getting new biomedical technologies to market faster.��

With the recent hiring of Ernst & Young��alum��, UofL��is��further��dedicating its efforts to continue��growing��its��connections with��corporate entities.��Calzi��will��work with��each of the university’s��schools to launch new strategic alliances and business development initiatives, including corporate training and internship programs and corporate-sponsored��research.����

Groundbreaking��discoveries and��connecting��with industry��partners��help��UofL stand out as a campus where��big ideas��propel��progress.����

“It’s a big milestone for our company, moving from R&D to production and commercial sales,” said Vasanthi Sunkara, AEM’s president and CEO, at a ribbon cutting event June 2. “Today’s event commemorates …the company’s direction toward becoming a full-fledged commercial venture.”��

AEM makes nano-materials for catalysts used in chemical processing and oil refining. Its new facility is in about 20,000 square feet at 311 E. Lee Street, just north of the Belknap Campus.��

Interim UofL President Greg Postel said the move was another success story from the university’s efforts to work with industry, including through the .

“Our Institute for Product Realization was designed as a way for us to pursue these types of new relationships,” he said.��

The IPR connects companies with on-campus resources for problem-solving and innovation. John Gant, the IPR’s director of industry partnerships and alliances, said the university is looking for companies, like AEM, that have an “innovative twist.”����

“This is exactly the kind of company we want to work with at the University of Louisville,” he said.��

Advanced Energy Materials LLC has roots at UofL, and was born from a break-through technology developed at the Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research. The company now has an exclusive license agreement with the UofL Office of Technology Transfer for a portfolio of several patents, which could be commercialized as products for customers.����

Mary Ellen Wiederwohl, chief of Louisville Forward, the city’s economic development engine, said companies leveraging those kinds of UofL resources can help drive the local economy.��

“This density of companies here that are using the intellectual prowess of the university to drive economic growth in our city is certainly part of our long-term growth strategy for economic prosperity in our city,” she said.

Terry Gill, secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, said these partnerships, with support from the state, can also drive growth throughout Kentucky.

Gill added that��successes like this can be used “as kind of a draw for other young talent in the region to the University of Louisville and really to highlight the wonderful work that’s happening there.”

AEM has nine employees with plans to hire five more by the end of the year. Total employment is projected to reach as many as 60 by 2019.

Photos from the ribbon cutting event are . Video from the event is also available below:��