The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has awarded a $5 million grant to Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration (SHA) in support of diversity and inclusion initiatives, and student financial aid.

The five-year grant will allow SHA to expand recruitment initiatives to cultivate qualified applicants in targeted underserved markets. The funds will also provide scholarships for underrepresented and first-generation students to attend summer enrichment programs. In support of current students, the gift provides academic and nonacademic support as a component of personal and professional development.

Most significantly, the grant will provide scholarship support for five or more students annually for five years, plus increase the reach of the existing Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Scholarship to support three or more students annually in perpetuity. Cornell University admits students based on qualifications, regardless of ability to pay. More than 60 percent of SHA students currently receive some form of financial aid, and the need continues to grow.

Johnson

“Not only is providing financial aid support to our students a priority, it is also crucial that we invest in programs that ensure the students’ success,” said Michael D. Johnson, the Bradley H. Stone Dean and E.M. Statler Professor at SHA. “We look forward to partnering with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in helping deserving students from all backgrounds access the hospitality-focused business education only available at SHA.”

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation was created in 1944 by international business pioneer Conrad N. Hilton, who founded Hilton Hotels and left his fortune to help the world’s disadvantaged and vulnerable people. The foundation conducts strategic initiatives in six priority areas: providing safe water, ending chronic homelessness, preventing substance use, helping children affected by HIV and AIDS, supporting transition-age youth in foster care, and extending Conrad Hilton’s support for the work of Catholic Sisters. In addition, following selection by an independent international jury, the foundation annually awards the $2 million Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize to a nonprofit organization doing extraordinary work to reduce human suffering. Since its inception, the foundation has awarded more than $1 billion in grants, distributing $100 million in the U.S. and around the world in 2014. The foundation’s assets are approximately $2.5 billion.