UCF Rosen College
gets $1.5 million to build kitchen.
The UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management is planning a new, larger kitchen and food-service lab for restaurant industry career training.
The college says rapid growth in food-service programs is prompting need for a new 3,500-square-foot lab. That's the size of a roomy ranch-style house.
The facility will be named the Marriott Foodservice Lab, because the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation has committed $1.5 million to the con- struction project.
The new lab is expected to be completed in 2019. Rosen’s campus is in the heart of Orlando's tourism area, near the Orange County Convention Center.
Rosen College says more than 1,400 students are currently enrolled in six courses to learn about design, catering, franchise development, food preparation, cost controls and managerial skills.
The school has two existing food-service labs, which closely resemble modern restaurant kitchens. As teaching labs, they are also equipped with video monitors and other instructional enhancements. Both of those labs will remain, so the college is actually gaining a third food-service lab, a spokeswoman said.
The Marriott Foundation seeks to prepare the next generation of hospitality leaders by supporting programs such as Rosen’s that offer real-world experiences.
The college “also emphasizes access and opportunities for students from all backgrounds,” said Marriott Foundation Executive Director Anne Gunsteens.
The college, which opened in 2004, now has 3,700 students, five undergraduate majors and two graduate degrees, in addition to a Ph.D. in hospitality management.