HOUSTON | In response to industry needs, the University of Houston Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management will offer coursework for those interested in the business of wine and spirits. The new Beverage Management and Marketing minor will be available to students of all majors beginning in fall 2008.
“The multi-billion dollar wine and spirits industry offers tremendous opportunities for students,” said John Bowen, dean of the college. “What we are doing is creating an opportunity for students to specialize in this area. This also will expose non-hospitality majors to the field and give them career opportunities that they may not otherwise have had.”
Glenn Cordua, director of the college’s Wine & Spirits Management Institute, added that the college worked closely with the industry, which recruits students from the prestigious hospitality program.
“Our friends and partners indicated students would benefit from a specialized curriculum and instruction on selling wine and spirits to prepare them for careers in wholesale or retail distribution as sales representatives, beverage managers and directors for the wine and spirits industry,” said Cordua. “In addition, great growth opportunity exists with supermarkets and superstores that are creating or expanding wine departments and will be in need of wine buyers and qualified managers.”
One of only a few hospitality programs in the world that now offer such a minor, this new program consists of classes in wine appreciation, beverage marketing, beverage management, professional selling, alcoholic beverage law and regulation, and a related internship. Faculty from the Bauer College of Business will teach the professional selling class, which is part of Bauer’s Program for Excellence in Selling—one of only a few nationally recognized selling programs. For students to enroll in the wine appreciation class and to engage in a related internship, they must be of legal drinking age.
Enrollment is open now. Contact Kevin Simon, director of undergraduate studies, at ksimon@uh.edu or 713-743-2459 for more information.
For more information on the UH Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, visit www.hrm.uh.edu/.
For more information on the UH C. T. Bauer College of Business, visit www.bauer.uh.edu/.
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Marisa Ramirez
