Dean Wibon | NYU Conference Highlights
Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership
August 2025 Center Update
Dear Friends and supporters,
We wanted to take a moment and share updates on the Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership, which honors the life and legacy of Arne Sorenson.
The vision of the center is to improve status, access and experience of Black hospitality professionals and entrepreneurs. The center will promote the education and advancement of Black leadership increasing the percentage of Black leadership at Director level and above. The Center offers tools and resources in the form of education, memberships, experiential learning, coaching, mentorship and sponsorship.
The Center is interdisciplinary and has students from School of Business, Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts, and Howard Law School. The Marriott-Sorenson Scholar is developed and coached on the intersection of their academic pursuits and the application to the hospitality industry. The Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership has three focuses within the vast hospitality industry.
Real Estate / Investing
Students are given exposure to industry conferences such as The Lodging Conference and Americas Lodging Investment Summit. Students in this track are also encouraged to obtain Industry certifications such as Certificate in Hotel Industry Analytics Certification in Advanced Hospitality and Tourism Analytics.
Finance / Technology
Students are engaged as members of Hospitality Finance and Technology Professionals ( HFTP) and are able to obtain industry relevant education and certificates including content on Uniform Systems of Accounting for Lodging Industry and Certificate in Hospitality Applied Finance.
Tourism / Events
This vertical gives keen insights to the tourism and events sectors. Inclusive of curated content from industry associations such as Destinations International and Professional Convention Management Association.
The certifications offered provide crucial professional development to students pursuing these industries. With access to certifications on Event Management, Event Sales and Growth and the certification as a Professional in Destination Management.
It was his work to create greater opportunity for all and his commitment to building a more diverse and inclusive workforce, both within Marriott and within the industry more broadly, that inspired the creation of the Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership. We carry his commitment with us as we continue our work to build the Center. It has been an honor working on this ambitious endeavor and getting to know so many of you who, from the outset, displayed a tremendous outpouring of support. You shared that the announcement of the Center was a bright light in an otherwise dark time.
Your love for Arne, alongside your big ideas and bold vision for the future of the hospitality industry, inspired the Center’s design and roadmap. We are forever connected through this project and remain grateful for your support and partnership.
Key Accomplishments
We would like to share some highlights from our work over the last year:
- Secured first place as winners of She Has a Deal. The Center became the first HBCU to compete and won.
- Refreshed vision statement, core program tenets, and the program.
- Launched the first chapter of Hospitality Finance and Technology Professionals at an HBCU.
- Developed an industry first bespoke internship with exposure to both operations and corporate level capacities.
- Appointed Omari Head as Executive Director who brings more than 20 years of hospitality experience from hotel ownership, brokerage, development and operations.
Contact Us
For more information or to subscribe to our newsletter, please contact us at mschl@howard.edu
Why We Are Here
The need for Black representation in the C-suites of the hospitality industry is urgent and necessary. Howard University, The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, and the Hospitality Industry join together in demanding immediate change. The Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership is changing the complexion of hospitality leaders by creating a pipeline to the executive suites.
In recognition of the shared values of excellence, service, truth, and integrity, and honoring the late Arne Sorenson, beloved president and CEO of Marriott International, The J. Willard & Alice S. Marriott Foundation is providing a $20 million endowment to create the Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership in partnership with Howard University.
Howard University’s location and its long-held commitment to the study of disadvantaged persons in American society and throughout the world, and its goal to eliminate inequities related to race, color, social, economic, and political circumstances, make it the epicenter for the transformation of the hospitality industry.
Arne Sorenson was a man who embodied many of the attributes of the Marriott- Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership. He practiced candor and honesty, and believed “each person deserves to be recognized for who we are and respected for both our common humanity and the distinct qualities that make us unique.” Arne wrote, “I have tried to use my perch at Marriott to advocate for an opportunity for all.” He also called upon others to live “in a way that pierces through prejudice” and “use our own lives to bring recognition and community and opportunity to life.” As an icon in the hospitality industry, Arne’s remarkable legacy will springboard students into taking the future higher.
What We Do
Our approach reflects our mission, our vision, and our history. The Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership creates opportunities for ambitious Howard University students to elevate the industry. They repeatedly prove they aren’t afraid to take action, and reflect on where they have come from and the world they want to create as they live their mission over their major.
Guided by the ever-evolving, fluid, and bold strategic vision of Howard University, the Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership addresses the needs of a changing hospitality landscape. We are intentionally innovative as we create seismic waves in the hospitality industry.
We build on Howard University’s powerful research history as we create thought leadership that not only prepares students to be the workforce of the future, but also empowers them to be co-creators in what the future of hospitality leadership looks like.
This thought leadership helps us as we challenge the industry. We believe the only acceptable goal is parity, and we will hold the industry accountable to this standard as we shine a continual spotlight on race. We recruit committed industry partners to join us in this bold vision for a diverse, equitable, and inclusive future.
How We Do It
Continuing Howard University’s unwavering quest to balance the scales for the disenfranchised, and promote an America that is devoid of inequalities, the Marriott- Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership equips students with the skills to be agents of change in the hospitality industry.
Unparalleled Experience
We start with addressing the stigma of servitude attached to hospitality. Our grounding in Black history in hospitality is woven in as we explore the breadth and earning potential, igniting inspiration and possibility. Our program is executive-led, bringing in the highest levels of expertise to lead workshops and lectures. Our students engage in immersive experiences, like on-site executive suite shadowing and practical simulations. We offer a variety of internships, from freshman through senior year, giving students multiple views of the industry. The culmination launches Howard University graduates into their global and local communities to change the world, and become life-long ambassadors of the program.
Mentorship
Mentorship is a core component of what we do. Students are guided by industry experts and can build their professional network prior to graduation, curating their own informal “Board of Directors” as they go. Our mentors are executives who are deeply committed to building this pipeline with us. They represent diversity across gender, race, and experience in the industry, and many are our proud Howard University Alumni.
