UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 13
December 5, 1996
Gala celebration marks HRIM lab dedication

     To the sounds of the Jerry Lambert Trio from the Altanta
Ritz Carlton Hotel, a crowd including top figures from the
hospitality industry and UD administrators, faculty and students
gathered on Sunday, Nov. 24, in the Multipurpose Room of the
Trabant University Center to celebrate the dedication of the
Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management (HRIM) Program's
Foodservice Laboratory.
     Located on the second floor of the Trabant University
Center, the $3.2 million, 13,500-gross-square-foot laboratory
features a student-operated, 65-seat dining room-Vita Nova-plus a
display kitchen, teaching and demonstration kitchen with state-of-
the art video and satellite capabilities.
     Students in the Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional
Management Program use the facility to understand the challenges
and dynamics of operating a business. On a daily basis, they
rotate through management- and skill-level positions to learn the
details required to exceed guest expectations.
     At the event, President David P. Roselle paid special
tribute to those who helped make the laboratory a reality. He
particularly noted the leadership gift of $500,000 from ARAMARK,
which helped start the campaign, and a $100,000 gift from the J.
Willard Marriott Foundation. In recognition of those gifts, the
teaching kitchen will carry the ARAMARK name and the satellite
demonstration kitchen will carry the J. Willard Marriott
Foundation name.
     Roselle also thanked the many corporate manufacturers,
suppliers and private sponsors who supported the fund-raising
effort.
     In a surprise announcement, Ralph Williams, Delaware '61 and
president of the HRIM Advisory Board, said that in recognition of
the leadership of Paul Wise, director of the HRIM Program, the
individual members of the advisory board had donated more than
$18,000 for the project in Wise's name. A plaque commemorating
the gift cites Wise's "leadership and dedication [which] have set
high standards for the program and its students."
     Highlighting the event were food stations featuring a
variety of cuisines and preparers from the hospitality industry,
including Southwestern (prepared by ARAMARK), regional (Hartefeld
and the Columbus Inn), Cajun (the Delaware Chapter of the Club
Managers Association of America), American (Harry's Savoy Grill),
Chesapeake Bay (Marriott International and Marriott Management
Services), Italian (Merv Griffin's Resorts Casino Hotel),
specialty desserts (the Hotel du Pont) and autumn harvest (HRIM
students working at Vita Nova).
     Throughout the afternoon program, guests were able to take
student-led tours of the foodservice laboratory, where Taggart &
Grycky, a flute and guitar duo from the University, performed.