The School of Family, Consumer and Nutrition Science will see developments in the upcoming months.

An advisory meeting for the School of FCNS resulted in the development of a hospitality administration scholarship, a mentoring program and an expansion of the internship sites for hospitality students, said Lan Li, an associate professor of FCNS and facilitator of the hospitality administration program. Industry leaders advise NIU’s administration program at the advisory meetings, which was established in 2003.

“To get the input and advice from the hospitality industry and local community, we set up the Hospitality Administration Advisory Board in 2003,” Li said. “Due to the support from the committee, HA students are able to take field trips to various agencies such as the Park Hyatt, the Peninsular Hotel in Chicago and others. The advisory board has also put us in contact with various speakers from the industry who have come to our classroom to share with our students the most current industry trends and their experiences with our students.”

Representation from the board includes such corporations as the Hyatt, the Marriott and NIU. The board’s goal is to get industries committed to support students through scholarships.

Another development within the School of FCNS is the mentoring program that will be organized for fall.

Li said the program provides another resource for students to plan careers as well as build networks that help students acquire jobs after graduation.

“The goal for the mentoring program includes pairing each HA student with an industry leader from their field of interest,” Li said. “The mentor will provide our students practical knowledge of the industry and help them make decisions that will help in transitioning from academic life to the workforce.”

Li said required internships will prepare students with hands-on experience, and the mentoring program will help students build their careers.

“The program of hospitality administration is a niche market,” Li said. “We are the only four-year state university close to Chicago offering this program. We want to see the continuous growth of the program. The new development will certainly help us to grow as the hospitality industry is back to business and starts hiring again. We will see more students become interested in the hospitality program.”