UMD News Releases

DULUTH, MN - Duluth business owners and long-time economic development advocates Joel and Sharon Labovitz and Bruce Stender of Labovitz Enterprises, along with the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), recently announced the installation of the Labovitz Enterprises Hospitality Scholarship Fund at UMD. The newly established scholarship was founded to encourage careers in the hospitality industry.

The fund will provide annual and renewable scholarships ranging from $250 to $1,250 to qualified students who wish to work in the hospitality field. Applicants must be, or plan to be, full-time students at UMD, and preference will be given to those applicants who are part of the Duluth Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites family, e.g., associates or their spouses or children. Labovitz Enterprises owns and manages the Duluth hotel, along with four other hotel and restaurant properties in the United States.

"We believe strongly in the role the hospitality industry plays, and will continue to play, in the Duluth economy," said Bruce Stender, president and CEO of Labovitz Enterprises. "This scholarship is a commitment to building that industry by educating and nurturing the people who will be a part of it. We have the opportunity to do that for our community right here within our community."

William Wade, UMD Director of University Relations and Development said, "We are very pleased that Labovitz Enterprises has chosen to provide these scholarships encouraging students to pursue a quality higher education at UMD."

Applications for the Labovitz Enterprises Hospitality Scholarship Fund are available at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites personnel office, or the UMD office of University Relations and Development, 315 Darland Administration Building. Scholarships will be awarded annually and may be renewed.