The HFIM major has partnered with UGA’s Public Service and Outreach (PSO) Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel (Georgia Center) in providing UGA’s experiential efforts specific to hospitality management. Through consistently scheduled semester tours, integrated case work linked to their hospitality operations, and internship assignments, the Georgia Center is providing a foundational experience for HFIM majors. The proposed renovations will build on these opportunities and greatly enhance the depth of programming available to HFIM students thereby closing the gap between the burgeoning UGA program and more mature hospitality management programs within the U.S. To elevate the HFIM student learning environment, the Georgia Center is committing a portion of two levels of office space located adjacent to Sanford Drive to be renovated for a new, approximately 3,300 sf commercial teaching kitchen and for an approximate 4,200 sf event management lab. The teaching kitchen is envisioned to have up to 14 stations (for groups of 3-4 students at each station), including the instructor / demonstration station, with commercial cooking equipment and appropriate exhaust hoods, etc. The event management lab is anticipated to be a large conference / hospitality room accommodating over 140 at round tables. The renovation anticipates moveable partitions to provide flexibility to the space as well as back of house service areas to support hosted functions. A new exterior sanitary sewer line and natural gas line are anticipated to support the teaching kitchen. The project also includes new HVAC systems to support the required kitchen exhaust systems, etc. These additions to the HFIM program will allow for a more comprehensive experiential learning opportunity for HFIM students and significantly enrich their UGA experience. Moreover, the facility renovations will assist in the recruitment of new HFIM students as UGA will have comparable facilities to the top hospitality programs in the country. Through this new experiential space and innovative course programming, UGA’s HFIM program will continue to be a leader in hospitality management education.
