$300K State Department Grant Allows Cal Poly Pomona To Assist Russian University In Curriculum Development

The Collins School of Hospitality Management at Cal Poly Pomona will help a Russian university develop its hospitality curriculum thanks to a United States Department of State grant of $299,804.

The three-year grant allows groups of instructors from Petrozovadsk University in Russia to take educational visits to the Collins School in order to develop 14 courses in tourism as well as hospitality and restaurant management at their northwestern Russia campus. Other objectives include acquiring new library material; improving faculty English language skills; establishing Internet-based distance learning and continuing education seminars.

From Jan. 9 through March 25, an inaugural group of four Russian professors is participating in a program at Cal Poly Pomona that familiarizes them with the university's courses, provides tours of local hospitality and tourism businesses, and introduces them to hospitality leaders and entrepreneurs. Trips include a visit to the Hollywood Walk of Fame to watch a star unveiling, a meeting with Hilton Hotel executives, a tour of the South Hills Country Club and cooking classes. In March, they will also create a Russian-themed lunch special for the Restaurant at Kellogg Ranch, a unique academic experience in which students manage and operate a fine dining restaurant at the Collins School.

The first group of Petrozovadsk educators are: Elvira Pavlova, chair of the tourism department; Evguenia Sokolova, chair of the foreign language department; and professors Alexandre Konovalov and Yelena Pavlova. Leading their 10-week program is Cal Poly Pomona lecturer Marie Royce.

The partnership between Cal Poly Pomona and Petrozovadsk University was made possible through the State Department's Freedom Support Educational Partnership Program, created in 1982 to encourage cooperation between academic institutions worldwide.

Through the U.S. Department of State, the university has also worked with the State Engineering University of Armenia to develop continuing education and educational administration and New Bulgarian University in Bulgaria to develop public administration and public policy programs.

Currently celebrating its 30th year of excellence, The Collins School of Hospitality Management at Cal Poly Pomona is the largest and oldest hospitality program in California. Ranked among the top three undergraduate hospitality management programs in North America, Collins School students receive a superior education in this state-of-the-art facility, where they learn to apply hospitality management theories and concepts to real-word settings. Part of this unique academic experience includes managing and operating the fine-dining Restaurant at Kellogg Ranch.

Media Contact: Uyen Mai, (909) 869-5331.