Delhi News Bureau

DELHI — When Marriott International Inc. recruiters take business trips to Delhi, they can expect to spend the night in a newly minted suite at the college.

Stacy Veden, Marriott national recruiter, slept in the State University College of Technology at Delhi's renovated Marriott suite Monday night.

"Stacy said the bed was very comfortable," said Dr. Candace S. Vancko, Delhi Tech president.

On Tuesday, Delhi Tech's hospitality management department held the grand reopening of its redecorated Marriott Suite with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Vancko said the suite symbolizes the strong partnership between the college and the hospitality industry.

"Marriott could have chosen any college in the nation, but it chose SUNY Delhi," Vancko said.

The original Marriott suite was built in 1987 as part of a larger construction project that converted a campus dining hall into the Alumni Hall Hospitality Center, according to Kimberly MacLeod, college communications coordinator.

Rosalie Higgins, dean of business and hospitality, said the suite is a learning laboratory for students in the college's hospitality management program.

"We have the finest hospitality program in the State University system, and the suite is one of the reasons," Higgins said. "Our hotel program is so strong because the students learn everything from how to select carpet to how to buff the bathroom floor.

"Learning the rooms inside out gives our students a competitive edge in the job market," Higgins said. "It's absolutely essential that we stay current with what's going on in the field."

Higgins said the suite is used regularly by visiting VIPs but is not available to the public because it isn't staffed full time.

Shortly after she became president of the college two years ago, Vancko said, she met Tom Walsh — a 1988 graduate of Delhi Tech's hospitality management program and director of hotel sales at the Westchester Marriott — at a reception in New York City.

"He told me how proud he was to be a Delhi graduate and told me to call him if there was anything he could ever do to help," Vancko said. "Two months later, I called — I thought it was delicate to wait at least two months — and asked if he could help get the suite redecorated. Within a couple of days the ball was rolling."

Walsh connected the college with corporate headquarters and urged Marriott to help.

"Marriott quickly obliged. They contributed everything we needed, from wall coverings and furnishings to bed linens and fixtures," Higgins said.

Walsh said the new suite will ensure Delhi stays a cut above the competition.

Veden said she has a special place in her heart for Delhi Tech. She said she slept soundly in the comfortable bed, even though she sometimes has trouble sleeping while on recruiting trips.

"What keeps me up at night is always looking for the best of the best," Veden said. "I want to thank you for helping me get a few extra winks at night, because now I know where to come to find the best."

———

If you have good news you'd like to share, please call Managing Editor Cary Brunswick at 432-1000 or (800) 721-1000; e-mail him at cary@thedailystar.com; fax him at 432-5707; or write to him at P.O. Box 250, Oneonta, NY 13820.