"Hail, Alma mater dear …"

Cheers, Jan-Feb, 2005 by Charles Forman

Johnson & Wales University makes much of its commitment to helping its students succeed. They certainly should and we in the beverage industry should, too. One of the latest wrinkles on higher education for the real world that the professors in Providence, R.I., have come up with is "The Beverage Education Initiative," which is about as close as anyone's come to a higher education beverage major.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

It's no surprise that this sorely needed focus on beverage alcohol education, beyond the ubiquitous "wine and food" focus, happened first at Johnson & Wales. Among prominent American institutions of higher learning, J&W is singular. Campus publicists sum it up as "The Johnson & Wales Difference."

One of the most unusual elements of "The Difference" and an apt metaphor for everything else that happens at Johnson & Wales is the upside down curriculum. This means that students take courses in their major during the first year, learning right away if their career choice is the right one for them. (Many of us can only wish that we had enrolled at a college that had this much common sense.)

At J&W, there's much more in the same vein. Students in most majors earn two degrees in four years. At the end of two years, they earn an associate's degree and the option to go on to a bachelor's. Then there's the four-day school week, allowing extra weekend time; there's course work in actual hotels, restaurants, bakeries, and retail shops; and, finally, there's the extent to which the school works with industry partners to help develop a curriculum which will fit graduates to real world business needs.

The new program is an addition that fits the pedigree. It began with the opening of Wine & Spirits Cellars on four school campuses. Of course, you can't learn about beverage without having some of it available. School officials say that at each location they'll be stocking on an annual basis 1,200 cases of wine, 500 cases of spirits, and 5,000 cases of coffee, tea and alternative beverages.

The curriculum is based on the existing beverage studies core that includes classes in beverage service, oenology and related areas. Other non-core courses already offered include ones in mixology, intervention procedures, and coffee, tea, and alternative beverages. Expanded offerings will cover the marketing, retailing, and management aspects of the beverage industry. Beverage concentrations will be offered in the University's Colleges of Business, Culinary Arts, and Hospitality.

The capstone of the current effort is a Beverage Education Institute, incorporating brand new physical facilities that will include several state-of-the-art auditoriums, dining, reception and bar areas, and an oenological library and artifact collection.

To learn more about this important program, contact Edward M. Korry, Department Chair, Beverage & Dining Service, Johnson & Wales University, College of Culinary Arts. E-mail: edward.korry@jwu.edu.

Charles Forman, Vice President, Group Publisher