FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Event management and hospitality management are being offered as minors at the U of A for the first time this semester.

Both programs are housed in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Science's School of Human Environmental Sciences.

"I am thrilled these minors have been created and approved," said Kelly A. Way, assistant director of human environmental sciences and associate professor in hospitality innovation. "Over the years we've had so many requests from students in other colleges interested in events and hospitality, but they were too far along in their majors to change. This just makes sense — opening the world of hospitality to others and encouraging them to pursue careers in an industry that is growing and hiring college graduates."

Each minor consists of the standard 15-hour curriculum. Students can begin taking classes as freshmen.

"What is so amazing about the hospitality degree is it accompanies so many other majors on campus nicely," said Way. "Content areas embellish on each other and really allow students to see how they can take the knowledge learned on campus and visualize it in an industry — dreaming while developing a career."

Dede Hamm, an instructor in the hospitality innovation program, is coordinating the event management minor.

"As interest in event planning as a career grows, it is important to teach students the knowledge and skills used in the events industry," said Hamm. "Our classes are designed to introduce students to event planning and management while planning actual events with industry experts. By the time they graduate, students will have planned several events with professionals in Northwest Arkansas and possess an enviable skill set that includes the essential knowledge and experience needed to be successful in the events industry."

In addition to the two new minors, new courses in Venue Management, and Festivals Management and Operations have been added to the hospitality curriculum.

"I am so proud of the hospitality faculty for creating new minors and courses for the student body," said Betsy Garrison, director of the School of Human Environmental Sciences. "We have amazing hospitality faculty here, and I have always thought it was a shame more students were not taking their classes."

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.