Helmsley Trust Endows Scholarship Program at Cornell
University's School of Hotel Administration
ITHACA, NY, April 21, 2009 - The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust has announced a $2 million gift to endow the Helmsley Scholarship at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. The scholarship will provide tuition support to approximately ten undergraduate students each year at the world's first and best-known degree program in hospitality management education.
"We extend our deepest gratitude to the Helmsley Charitable Trust for this extraordinarily generous gift," said Michael Johnson, dean of the school. "Financial aid is crucial to ensure that we maintain a diverse and talented student body that is prepared to serve our school and our industry. This gift will provide a tremendous lift as we work to meet that need."
More than 60 percent of students at Cornell's School of Hotel Administration currently receive some form of financial aid. Under the prospect of continuing economic uncertainty, school officials expect that the demand for aid will only grow.
"Our school must continue to attract new funding for scholarships," Dean Johnson commented. "That is the only way we can honor Cornell's historical commitment to need-blind admissions, secure the future of our students, and redirect resources to advance the school's many other initiatives."
Johnson also expressed gratitude to Takis Anoussis, general manager of the Helmsley Park Lane in New York City. A 1967 graduate of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, Anoussis championed this generous commitment to Cornell and to future leaders of the hospitality industry.
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