Bend-based hoteliers endow OSU-Cascades faculty post

Oregon State University–Cascades said Tuesday it has received a gift from a leading Central Oregon-based hotelier family that will support the creation of an endowed faculty scholar position within the university’s recently launched hospitality management program.

The position will be the second endowed faculty position at the OSU campus in Bend.

The $500,000 gift was donated by Robin and Curt Baney, the owners of Oxford Suites properties in California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, and the OXFORD hotel in Bend, the TripAdvisor No. 5-ranked U.S. hotel this year.

The gift will establish the Robin and Curt Baney Faculty Scholar Fund for Teaching Excellence in Hospitality Management.

“We are thrilled to contribute to the statewide momentum that is pushing OSU-Cascades’ hospitality management program toward academic and practical excellence,” said Curt Baney, president and chief executive officer of Oxford Corporate.

Todd Montgomery, who joined OSU-Cascades as an executive-in-residence and instructor in 2013 and helped guide the degree program to its launch in 2015, will serve as the first Robin and Curt Baney Faculty Scholar for Teaching Excellence in Hospitality Management.

The hospitality management program was created in response to overwhelming support from local and state hospitality leaders who sought a bachelor’s degree program in order to develop a strong workforce while offering employees’ professional development opportunities for Oregon’s growing hospitality industry.

Statewide, the hospitality industry is responsible for creating 91,100 jobs and contributing $9.2 billion to the economy.

Prior to creation of the degree at OSU-Cascades, a bachelor’s-level hospitality management program had not existed in Oregon for more than 20 years.

Students in the new degree program study business management, service delivery and operations management, food and beverage operations, technology within the hospitality sector, and entrepreneurship.

The curriculum prepares students for careers within a corporate setting, in hospitality operations or as an entrepreneur.

“The Baneys’ visionary gift to OSU-Cascades’ hospitality management program is a wonderful example of how an investment in teaching can directly contribute to the talent and innovation of our future graduates,” said Becky Johnson, vice president of OSU-Cascades.

The gift from the Baney family is the first to qualify for the OSU Provost’s Faculty Match for Teaching Excellence, an initiative that provides donors an extra incentive to support student success through the creation of endowed positions.

The Provost’s Match will add an additional $12,500 per year for the first five years to support the hospitality management program.