Kemmons Wilson

GoMemphis.com
Editorial 4/03: Wilson's final deal
April 3, 2002


THE KEMMONS Wilson School of Hotel & Resort Management at the University of Memphis might be one of Kemmons Wilson's larger, more visible philanthropic endeavors, and it is certainly a unique contribution to academia.

But it is only one more example in a long list of contributions the legendary hotel magnate has made to the cultural and economic life of his hometown.

Describing the school as "my final deal," the 89-year-old entrepreneur was on hand for its opening this week and received the deserved gratitude of the university and the community.

The hospitality school, which will begin classes in the fall, is a professionally run hotel with class rooms - and jobs - for U of M students who want to learn the hospitality industry. There's nothing quite like it on college campuses across the country.

In addition to providing classrooms and a laboratory of sorts for students, who will be able to move quickly into management positions, the facility will work with the Fogelman Executive Conference Center to host community and regional events.

The professionally managed, 138,000-square-foot, on-campus facility has 82 two-room suites and a banquet room that seats 1,000. It is expected to have a $65 million economic impact in the community over the next five years, creating about 100 jobs.

Wilson has taken great pride in the hotel, and he has taken a keen interest in its details. One would expect no less of the entrepreneur, who founded Holiday Inns in 1952, building it into a 1,700-hotel chain over the next 23 years.

The chain eventually was sold, but not after Wilson had successfully laid the foundation for the development of an industry that has provided many jobs in Memphis through such organizations as Holiday Inn, Harrah's, Hampton Inn and Embassy Suites.

He also has been a helpful mentor to a number of other Memphis entrepreneurs who owe much of their success to his ideas, his generosity and his broad coattails.

The hospitality school will be his last gift, as Wilson has described it. It will not only be a useful new program for the U of M but a reminder of the entrepreneurial spirit he has nurtured throughout the community.

Copyright, 2002, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN. Used here with permission. No additional reproduction or distribution of this article in any form is permitted without the written approval of The Commercial Appeal (http://www.gomemphis.com).