Source: Ian Schrager

Ian Schrager has pledged $1m to the Arne M. Sorenson Hospitality Fund. The fund was established by Marriott International to honor the legacy of Arne M. Sorenson, the company's late President and CEO. The donation will help support the programmatic and career development elements of the Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership, which will be housed within the Howard University School of Business.

At a time when the hospitality industry needs it most, the best-in-class program will aim to expand educational and professional opportunities for Howard University students and build the next generation of hospitality industry leaders.

"Arne Sorenson was the finest, most decent, most brilliant and creative man I've ever known. My life was so enriched by just knowing him and dealing with him. I have learned so much about both business and life from him. His passing is not only a loss for his family, friends and colleagues at Marriott but to all of us because he brought genuine good and made the world a better place for all of us. I hope that the Arne M. Sorenson Hospitality Fund in his honor, will continue the great and decent things he did in life by offering equal opportunities to future hospitality leaders. I'm very happy the work Arne did while he was alive will still continue and I am committed to helping to raise awareness and funds to support this effort," said Mr. Schrager.

The Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership was created by a $20 million endowment by The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation. Marriott International and now Ian Schrager have both pledged $1m to the Arne M. Sorenson Hospitality Fund and are inviting other companies, organizations and individuals - from all industries - to support this effort and pay homage to the work and memory of Arne Sorenson.

About The Arne M Sorenson Hospitality Fund

The Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership as well as the Arne M. Sorenson Hospitality Fund, which will support the programmatic and career development elements of the Center, were established just a week after the passing of Arne Sorenson in February. The experiential components of this new program, including access to top hospitality executives and industry leaders for Howard students, will make this curriculum appealing and unique. The Marriott family foundation and Howard University will work together to form a hospitality industry advisory council to design a program that will draw on the university's ideal location in the geographic heart of the hospitality industry—Greater Washington, D.C.—where Marriott and many other hospitality companies are headquartered. In addition to advising on the development of a world-class hospitality curriculum, the Center's advisory council members will serve as guest lecturers and mentors and provide hands-on learning opportunities for students. The council will include representatives from Howard, The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation and Marriott International as well as corporate hospitality executives, industry practitioners, association leaders and academics who together will develop a hospitality program focused on traditional and experiential learning opportunities. The goal will be to expose students to the hospitality industry through a management lens.

About Ian Schrager Company

After leaving Morgans Hotel Group in 2005, the company he founded and created, Ian Schrager developed his namesake, Ian Schrager Company. This company owns, develops, manages and brands hotels, residential and mixed-use projects. Since then, he has transformed the fabled Gramercy Park Hotel in New York City, created two groundbreaking residential properties, 40 Bond and 50 Gramercy Park North, successfully launched his new brand, PUBLIC Hotels, and is currently working on multiple hotels in New York City and two luxury residential projects; 215 Chrystie and 160 Leroy also in New York City. In addition, Schrager in partnership with Marriott International created EDITION Hotels, a luxury lifestyle brand with properties in London, Miami New York City, Los Angeles, Bodrum, Shanghai, Tokyo, Reykjavik and Barcelona and more in development around the world.

Schrager's brand, PUBLIC, is a new genre of hotel offering great value, great service and great style that sets a new industry standard. He has taken the best from the luxury set, the best from the boutique/lifestyle set and the best from select service and created a new breed of hotel where everything has been rethought and every original idea updated. The brand is defined by the unique experience it creates rather than by a business classification or price.

EDITION Hotels, Ian Schrager's partnership with Marriott International, marks the next chapter in the lifestyle hotel story. This brand combines the personal, intimate, individualized and unique lodging experience that Ian Schrager is known for with the global reach, operational expertise and scale of Marriott. This delicate balancing act encompasses not only great design and true innovation but also personal, friendly, modern service and outstanding, one-of-a-kind food, beverage and entertainment offerings... all "under one roof".

"Together Marriott and I have a new vision and plan to radically rethink and catapult the boutique/lifestyle category hotel into the present by capturing the spirit of the times," says Schrager.

Ian Schrager's groundbreaking concepts have changed the business and set industry standards that continue to be imitated throughout the world.