In 2004, after Rosen donated time, resources and millions of dollars, the Â鶹ԭ´´ Rosen College of Hospitality Management opened its doors, offering students an amazing opportunity to learn and work in the heart of the hospitality industry. The Rosen College, a strong pipeline of talent to the region’s and state’s tourism industry, is annually recognized as the best hospitality school in the nation.

Honored with multiple Lifetime Achievement awards — and an Honorary Doctor of Public Service degree from Â鶹ԭ´´ this summer — Rosen was known as one of the most generous, selfless, and kind-hearted individuals in Florida.

“Harris Rosen has been an outstanding friend to the Â鶹ԭ´´, and to Melinda and me,â€� says Â鶹ԭ´´ President Alexander N. Cartwright. “Anyone who spent time with Harris like we did got to witness his passion for doing the right thing and inspiring future generations to do this same.

“His generosity of spirit and extraordinary contributions to the hospitality and tourism management industry have left an incredible mark on our university, our region, and the thousands of students and alumni who have come through the Rosen College and are making their mark in the industry.â€� — Alexander N. Cartwright, Â鶹ԭ´´ President

“Through his vision and dedication, Harris was instrumental in establishing the Rosen College of Hospitality Management, which became the nation’s leading hospitality program, while lifting countless lives through his philanthropy. As a charter member of the Â鶹ԭ´´ Board of Trustees, he played a pivotal role in shaping our path as a leading metropolitan research university.

“His generosity of spirit and extraordinary contributions to the hospitality and tourism management industry have left an incredible mark on our university, our region, and the thousands of students and alumni who have come through the Rosen College and are making their mark in the industry. On behalf of all of us at Â鶹ԭ´´, we extend our deepest gratitude for his remarkable legacy.â€�

Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s honorary degree, one of the highest honors the university can award, recognized Rosen’s lifetime of selflessness, achievement and dedication to giving back to the community.

In nominating Rosen, Rosen College Dean Cynthia Mejia acknowledged his extraordinary achievements in public service over the last 50 years.

“I have learned from Mr. Rosen how modest beginnings can translate into hard work and how doing the right thing for his associates and company can transcend people’s lives,� she wrote in her nomination letter.

Rosen is known as one of Central Florida’s leading entrepreneurs. After developing the Contemporary, Polynesian, and Fort Wilderness resorts at Disney, Rosen purchased a 256-room Quality Inn on Orlando’s International Drive. From that modest start, he grew Rosen Hotels & Resorts into one of the Southeast’s largest independent hotel chains, now celebrating its 50th anniversary with seven area hotels, multiple subsidiary businesses, and more than 4,000 employees. Today, the company boasts over 6,300 guest rooms and suites, more than 740,000 square feet of event space, and more than 30 unique dining options.

Rosen’s Tangelo Park Program, created in 1994, provides free preschool to children ages 2, 3, and 4 in this resource-limited community, in addition to full college scholarships once they graduate high school. As a result, the crime rate dropped, high school graduations soared to nearly 100%, and the program’s success led Rosen to start a similar program in another community in Orlando, Parramore. Together, more than 500 students have received college or vocational school scholarships to state schools, providing tuition, room and board and books.

After the passing of his youngest son, Adam, 26, to brain cancer in 2018, Rosen made a generous commitment to the University of Florida and the ReMission Alliance for an innovative laboratory center, now named the Adam Michael Rosen Neuro-Oncology Laboratories. This world-class collaborative facility creates an open environment in which doctors and experts can share equipment, labs and research results in hopes of ultimately providing better, faster patient care and someday finding a cure for cancer.

Mr. Rosen’s additional philanthropic efforts include founding the Jack and Lee Rosen Jewish Community Center in southwest Orlando; preventing the closure of what is now the Rosen Aquatic & Fitness Center; and providing drinking water, housing, and other relief supplies to people in Haiti after multiple natural disasters.

“While I could write a book about his business success and how leaders all over Florida look to him as a beacon of light, it is the foundations, his generosity, and his selflessness which I would like to highlight,� Rosen Hotels & Resorts Vice President Frank Santos wrote in a letter supporting the honorary degree. “Quite simply put, Mr. Rosen is a humble man who has positively impacted the lives of thousands of Floridians not for any other reason than, in his words, ‘because it is the right thing to do.’ �

Meet the alumni, leadership and faculty singled out in various industries.

Education

Degrees: Bachelor of Science in elementary education; Master of Educational Leadership; Doctorate of Educational Leadership

Â鶹ԭ´´ president

Tourism and Transportation

2019 Â鶹ԭ´´ Honorary Alumni Award recipient, member of dean’s advisory board of the Rosen College of Hospitality Management and a charter member of the Â鶹ԭ´´ Board of Trustees

Degrees: Bachelor of Arts in journalism

Politics and Government

Degrees: Bachelor of Arts in interdisciplinary studies;ÌýMaster of Nonprofit Management; Master of Public Administration

Degree: Bachelor of Science in marketing

Entertainment, Sports and the Arts

Degree: Master of Business Administration

Â鶹ԭ´´ School of Performing Arts faculty

Business

Degree: Master of Business Administration

Degree: Bachelor of Science in accounting

Degree: Master of Business Administration

Degree: Bachelor of Science in computer science

The Ones to Watch

Bachelor of Science in finance

Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice

Dziuban, director of the initiative, and Bush, editor/research associate, were presented the Collective Excellence Award and $15,000 to expand and increase their work. The inaugural presentation of the award was made during the university’s annual Founders’ Day Honors Convocation in the Student Union. Dziuban accepted the award for the team during the ceremonies.

Tangelo Park is a community just southeast of the International Drive tourist area. In the 1980s and 1990s, the urban community experienced low socioeconomic demographic conditions: drug problems, poor school attendance, declining test scores and high school dropout rates.

With the financial backing of Harris Rosen of Rosen Hotels and Resorts, the program has addressed the area’s educational, social and economic concerns with the collaborative support of several Tangelo Park community organizations. The community has become a model that assures childcare programs, parent-effectiveness training, and post-secondary education or training opportunities at no cost to the community.

For nearly 20 years, Dziuban and Bush have volunteered for the Tangelo Park Project as Â鶹ԭ´´ liaisons, consultants and advisory board members, said Dale Whittaker, Â鶹ԭ´´ provost and executive vice president.

“Their work monitoring student progress revealed a 17 percent increase in graduation rates and 31 percent increase in college attendance. And they discovered that for every dollar invested in the program, society receives a $7 benefit, from increased education and reduced crime,� he said. “(They) have publicized the program’s success and encouraged its replication in underserved communities across the country. This includes a similar effort underway in the Parramore area, which ties now to the new downtown campus.�

Whittaker said the new award will recognize a team each year whose work exemplifies one of seven categories: powering partnerships, creating access, dreaming big, unleashing potential, harnessing scale, amplifying impact or transforming lives.
Other awards announced at the ceremony were:

All of the recipients can be seen .

In high school, Crawford knew she wanted to study law. She had good grades. And she had a family pushing her towards choosing a university.

But how she would pay for college? That question stumped her.

“I always knew I had to go to college,� she said. “But I would have had to take out loans, take on debt. I could not burden my family.�

Crawford found the solution through the Tangelo Park Program, which is funded by hotelier and philanthropist Harris Rosen and, among other things, provides full college scholarships to students living in the neighborhood.

Crawford on Friday becomes the 18th Rosen Foundation Scholar to graduate from Â鶹ԭ´´, another success story from a community that has blossomed with Rosen’s support. The Tangelo Park Program, founded in 1993, is credited with elevating the community’s early childhood education programs, decreasing crime, and changing the lives of a generation of students who’ve gone on to graduate from college with the financial help of the scholarships.

“It’s such a good thing for the community,� Crawford said. “People talk about it. It’s a big help.�

Crawford had set her path to law school early. She was drawn to the words of a lawyer at an elementary school career day.

“He said they provide justice to people who feel wronged,� she said. “I knew I wanted to do that. I had a sense of justice. I wanted to help those people. I would tell that to my family. They knew from a young age that I wanted to be a lawyer.�

After her parents divorced, Crawford, her mother and siblings moved to Tangelo Park from Tampa when she was a high school sophomore to live with her grandmother. In Tangelo Park, she attended Cypress Creek High School.

Although money was tight, Crawford said she had a lot of support: Both of her parents have college degrees and encouraged her to work hard and go to college. And her school talked up the Rosen Scholarship, so she applied her senior year. She was accepted to UF, FAMU and other state universities. But when she visited Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s campus one Sunday, she felt at home.

“Once I saw the campus, I knew I wanted to be here,â€� she said during a break from her job as a Â鶹ԭ´´ resident assistant. “I liked knowing I’d be close to my family.â€�

Crawford has been busy at Â鶹ԭ´´. Fiercely driven to succeed, she graduates as a legal studies major with three minors: business, aerospace and leadership studies. She’s a resident assistant at the Libra Community. She’s in the ROTC and already has been accepted at the University of Florida law school. She’s a member of the LEAD Scholars Academy, The Burnett Honors College and the President’s Leadership Council.

Earlier this month, she was awarded Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s highest student honor: the Order of Pegasus award. The award is given to graduating seniors and graduate students who demonstrate exemplary university and community involvement, leadership, academic achievement and service.

Her family was there, cheering her on.

“For me, the (Rosen) scholarship gave me the ability to work hard, and to be able to join educational and professional organizations that I would not have otherwise been able to join,� she said. “Without it, I would have had to have a job. I didn’t have to worry about how I was going to pay, not just for school, but my car and insurance.�

The Rosen Foundation Scholarship, started when Rosen adopted the community more than 22 years ago, covers tuition, housing and books. Students have to graduate from high school, apply for other federal grants and scholarships, and remain in good academic standing at their respective colleges or vocational schools, among other requirements. Pooled together, the scholarship and other aid can cover all the student’s college-related expenses, including housing and meal plans.

Since then, Rosen has become one of Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s most notable benefactors. He helped found the Rosen College of Hospitality Management and thus far has invested more than $12 million in the Tangelo Park project. He also previously served on Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s Board of Trustees.

His philanthropy has changed the community, one child at a time. While 22 years ago fewer than half of the high school students graduated, now almost all finish high school and of those who go on to college, 77 percent graduate, according to the program’s statistics. Crime has dropped dramatically, and the lifetime earning potential of students has risen dramatically.

Crawford plans to go to law school, but it’s deferred for now. She will commission in the fall as a lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and serve four years as a personnel officer. After that, she’ll pursue her law degree, and hopes to serve as a judge advocate general in the Air Force. Eventually, she wants to do estate planning as a way to help others.

“My time at Â鶹ԭ´´ taught me that your past situation doesn’t define you,â€� she said.

To other students she offers this advice: “Get out of your comfort zone. Don’t get complacent. This is a great place and a great opportunity. Take advantage of it, and use it to achieve your goals and do what you’re passionate about. Then, pay it forward.�

The 12th annual list is made up of leaders in politics, business, education, sports, health, philanthropy and other fields.

Â鶹ԭ´´ President John C. Hitt earned the No. 4 ranking, following Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer; attorney, businessman and philanthropist John Morgan; and Lars Houman, president and CEO of Florida Hospital and Florida Division Adventist Health System.

Under Hitt, who has been president since 1992, Â鶹ԭ´´ has become the nation’s second largest university with about 61,000 students. The magazine praised Hitt for leading the effort in October of breaking ground with industry and government partners on the Florida Advanced Manufacturing Research Center in Osceola County, a $270 million project to develop sensors for assorted electronic devices. Hitt also received the Historical Society of Central Florida’s 2015 John Young History Maker Award for lifetime achievements making a historic impact on the community.

Others with Â鶹ԭ´´ roles named to the list were:

In addition to alumni Martins and Marchena (College of Sciences, Â鶹ԭ´´ Class of 1982) several other Â鶹ԭ´´Â graduates are on the top-50 list:

The 11th annual list in the magazine’s July edition represents the region’s political leaders, educators, business owners, tourism officials and others who lead and inspire.

Â鶹ԭ´´ President John C. Hitt earned the No. 4 ranking. The top three names on the list are Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, attorney and businessman John Morgan, and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs.

Hitt, Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s president since 1992, leads the nation’s second-largest university with nearly 60,000 students. The magazine praised the development of high-tech and research areas at Â鶹ԭ´´, as well as the creation of the Blackstone LaunchPad to help students develop entrepreneurial ideas into successful businesses.

Others with Â鶹ԭ´´ roles who were named to the list are:

In addition to Martins, Marchena (College of Sciences, Â鶹ԭ´´ Class of 1982) and Atchison (College of Business Administration, ‘92), there are five other Â鶹ԭ´´Â alumni on the top-50 list:

A separate list in the Orlando article includes 12 people to watch in the coming years, including these Â鶹ԭ´´ graduates:

Senior restaurant and foodservice management major Ryan Burke received the Mentee of the Year Award and senior Jacqueline Gonzales, a hospitality management and event management double major, received the Mentor of the Year Award. Gabrielle Mourino, ’11 was honored with the Alumni Mentor of the Year Award.

“I am extremely proud of this year’s POMPers as they continue to make more and more contributions to the program,” said Vanessa Cogswell, POMP director and Rosen College academic services coordinator. “For example, Leigh Andrzejewski and Mauricio Claros created our first poster, Chaz Tommasini and Katrina Godlewski helped develop our first brochure, and even the families of several POMP participants donated to the 2014 Mentorship Ceremony. The success of the program is attributed to their hard work and the investments they have each made to make it better.â€�

The program, which helps at-risk, probationary and readmitted students improve their grades through peer mentorships, has earned high marks and garnered accolades for its success. It currently boasts a 96.72% overall success rate and a 98% overall retention rate.

Rosen College would like to thank its partners for their generous contributions to POMP:

• Â鶹ԭ´´ Alumni Association
• Â鶹ԭ´´ Career Services
• Adamson’s Orchids
• Area 51 Graphics, LLC
• Lydia Sedely, Chick-Fil-A
• Rosen College Bookstore
• Bradley Loomis
• Julien Meyer
• Jamie and Tammie Sykes
• Barbara Thompson
• Sheila Vargas
• Katie Worthington
• Jennifer Wright

For more information about POMP, visit hospitality.ucf.edu/pomp. Students who wish to enroll in the program as a mentee or mentor should contact Vanessa.Cogswell@ucf.edu.

Hitt placed No. 7 on Maxwell’s annual compilation, which includes names from government, business, health care, legal and other fields.

Hitt has been president since 1992 and has built Â鶹ԭ´´ into the nation’s second-largest university with nearly 60,000 students. 

“He’s respected and visionary,â€� Maxwell said. “Right now, Hitt’s top challenges are keeping college affordable and dealing with a Legislature prone to cutting education.â€�

Hitt also founded the Florida High-Tech Corridor Council and has been involved with numerous local and state organizations, including the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission Fundraising Campaign, Council of 100, Orange County Chairman’s Transportation Commission, and others. Former Gov. Jeb Bush once called Hitt and Walt Disney the two most transformative figures in Central Florida’s history.

Others on the list with connections to the university are:

To see the complete list, click .

The new degree offered by the nation’s largest hospitality-management college will prepare students to teach, research and consult in the hospitality and tourism industry, and will replace the college’s previous doctoral track in Hospitality Education.

“This freestanding doctoral program strategically aligns with our purpose and objectives, and further solidifies Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s Rosen College as a leader in hospitality management education,â€� said Abraham Pizam, dean of Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s Rosen College.

The program will take an interdisciplinary approach to support research in hospitality and tourism. “The field of Hospitality Management is relatively new, and [Rosen College] is taking a unique leadership role in defining this emerging field at both the undergraduate and graduate levels,� according to the proposal to begin the program.

The 58-hour curriculum will include 16 credit hours of core courses, 27 credit hours of specialization courses and 15 credit hours of dissertation.

Paul Rompf, the college’s director of graduate studies, said the new curriculum will better align with other academic programs and have more variety in course selection. Students already enrolled in the Hospitality Education track have the option to continue with their existing curriculum or transfer into the new Hospitality Management program, he said.  Students will no longer be able to enroll in the Hospitality Education track.

The Â鶹ԭ´´ established its hospitality management program in 1983 within its College of Business. The program quickly experienced tremendous growth in enrollment, degrees and research to develop into one of Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s 12 colleges.

Orlando hotelier Harris Rosen donated more than $18 million in cash, land, and scholarships to Â鶹ԭ´´ to create the Rosen College of Hospitality Management, which opened its own satellite campus in 2004. The college has more than 3,000 students in its undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs.

For more information about Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s Rosen College of Hospitality Management and its degree programs, visit .

About Â鶹ԭ´´ Rosen College of Hospitality Management

Located in the heart of the tourism and hospitality industry, Orlando, the Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the Â鶹ԭ´´ is dedicated to the values of professionalism, leadership and service. The mission of Â鶹ԭ´´â€™s Rosen College is to develop future generations of global hospitality and tourism leaders representing all industry segments in the hospitality capital of the world, through innovative academic programs, cutting edge research and strong industry and community partnerships.

A five-year financial plan, centered on restructuring debt to allow capital growth, was one of the key factors in the Orlando Business Journal’s selection of Stricklin.

“I really appreciated just being nominated,� Stricklin said. “But to win the award is quite an honor, especially to be recognized by the Orlando business community. I’m very appreciative of the staff I have. Consistency is a key. We’ve had our staff in place for many years and we really work well together. They deserve this recognition as well.�

Â鶹ԭ´´ Vice President and Director of Athletics Todd Stansbury said Stricklin is “extremely deservingâ€� of this recognition.

“Brad’s professionalism and attention to detail have been a strength for our department and for me personally as I have transitioned into my role as athletics director,� Stansbury said.

Stricklin has been with Â鶹ԭ´´ Athletics since 2006. He oversees the Knights’ business operations, human resources and information technology departments. He also serves as the sport administrator for volleyball and men’s and women’s golf.

Rosen oversees seven Orlando-area hotels that include 6,300 rooms and employ 3,500 workers. In the 1990s, he created the Tangelo Park Pilot Program, which provides free preschool education for all 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds in the Central Florida neighborhood as well as other initiatives designed to assist the students through high school and college. The program provides all students in the neighborhood who are accepted to a Florida vocational school, junior college or four-year public college a completely free education, including room and board.

The Orlando Business Journal has previously recognized Rosen as a “Healthcare Hero� and one of the area’s top CEOs.