The Francesco and Mary Giambelli Foundation has renewed its four-year grant to the City Tech CUNY Foundation, providing a total of $200,000 in scholarships for students majoring in hospitality management.
The grant awards $50,000 annually to students, with the awards ranging from $500 to the cost of a full semester of tuition.
The Giambellis were renowned restaurateurs whose foundation began its scholarship program for City Tech students in 2022.
The renewed grant of $200,000 matches the initial commitment, which helped support 50 students enrolled in City Tech’s Hospitality Management Department between 2022 and 2026.
The renewal brings the foundation’s total contribution to City Tech to $400,000.
The generosity of this contribution and similar scholarship grants, help aspiring students pursue their education and build their careers in hospitality, a vital industry in New York’s cultural and economic life.
CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez said, “Their generous support will continue to help aspiring hospitality professionals pursue their education and build successful careers while carrying forward the Giambellis’ remarkable legacy in an industry that has helped shape New York City’s cultural and economic life.”
The awards are given to students who demonstrate financial need, exceptional academic achievement or both. They are notably available to both part-time and full-time students.
Unlike scholarships reserved strictly for full-time students, the awards of the Giambelli Foundation help support students who might be balancing multiple duties while earning their degree.
This helps ensure that the next generation of New York City’s hospitality industry can include a more diverse range of professionals.
Additionally, hospitality management, despite having a lot of overlap with a business degree, risks being seen as too narrow or risky to pursue post-pandemic.
Despite travel and dining numbers having rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospitality workforce has not returned at the same rate. In such underserved fields, scholarships help students finish their degrees, making community-focused careers more viable.
Scholarships that diversify and expand the workforce in hospitality can, in the long run, help with industry retention.
