{"id":29670,"date":"2026-08-31T11:26:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T15:26:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/?p=29670"},"modified":"2026-09-23T08:37:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T12:37:43","slug":"bu-sha-celebrates-excellence-at-the-alumni-of-the-year-award-ceremony-and-reception","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/2026\/08\/31\/bu-sha-celebrates-excellence-at-the-alumni-of-the-year-award-ceremony-and-reception\/","title":{"rendered":"BU SHA Celebrates Excellence at the Alumni of the Year Award Ceremony and Reception"},"content":{"rendered":"

BU SHA Celebrates Excellence at the Alumni of the Year Award Ceremony and Reception<\/a>, September 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Boston University School of Hospitality (BU SHA) is proud to announce the annual Alumni of the Year Award Ceremony and Reception<\/strong><\/a><\/span> to recognize outstanding alumni who have made significant contributions to the hospitality industry. The ceremony offers a unique opportunity to honor leadership, innovation, and dedication among the school\u2019s most distinguished graduates.<\/p>\n

Event Details:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Date:<\/strong> Friday, September 18, 2026
\n<\/span>Time:<\/strong> 12:00 PM \u2013 2:30 PM<\/p>\n

Location:<\/strong> BU School of Hospitality, 928 Commonwealth Ave., Stamas Lounge, 1st<\/sup> floor<\/p>\n

Registration:<\/strong> Free and open to the public. Advance registration is required. Registration link.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Honoring:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Distinguished Alumni of the Year<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seth Gerber<\/a><\/span>, SHA\u201912, Questrom\u201921, is a SHA adjunct faculty member, and the Owner and Operating Partner of MIDA, a celebrated Italian restaurant group spanning four Boston-area locations in the South End, Newton, East Boston, and Fenway. He is also the proprietor of The Babe, a neighborhood cocktail bar and sandwich shop in historic Salem, MA, and La Tavernetta in East Boston. Seth was a 2024 James Beard Award semifinalist in the category of Best Restaurateur.<\/p>\n

Young Alumni Awardee<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stephen Martino<\/a><\/span>, SHA\u201916, is the Director of Marketing at Union Square Hospitality Group in New York City, where he has led brand and digital marketing across the company\u2019s restaurants, from acclaimed fine dining rooms to a rapidly scaling fast casual concept. Before USHG, he built a broad foundation in hospitality across Boston, working in food and beverage, private events, marketing, and hotel finance.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt Boston University\u2019s School of Hospitality Administration, we believe that hospitality illuminates and enhances all the occasions when people come together\u2014to work, discuss, celebrate, relax, or simply enjoy each other\u2019s company. We aim to give our students the knowledge and confidence to create meaningful experiences and to help people, places, and businesses thrive,\u201d said\u00a0<\/span>Tanya Zlateva, dean ad interim of Boston University\u2019s School of Hospitality Administration.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m deeply grateful to be named Distinguished Alumni of the Year by Boston University School of Hospitality Administration. As both a restaurateur and adjunct faculty member, I\u2019ve seen how the lessons taught at SHA translate directly into building and leading businesses,\u201d said Seth Gerber.<\/a><\/span> \u201cI hope this recognition encourages students to take risks, challenge convention, and help shape the future of hospitality.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBeing named Young Alumni of the Year is a significant honor, especially at this point in my career,\u201d said Stephen Martino<\/a><\/span>. “I am so grateful to my professors and the SHA community for providing a solid foundation of learning that spans all areas of hospitality. What I learned at SHA was more than theory. The real-world experiences and training in strategic decision-making have been a direct advantage in each role I\u2019ve taken on since graduating. This recognition reaffirms that hospitality, done right, is a serious competitive advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Event Timeline:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

12:00 PM \u2013 1:00 PM: Networking Reception & Light Lunch<\/strong>
\n<\/span>Refreshments, mingling, and celebration with alumni, students, and faculty.<\/p>\n

1:00 PM \u2013 2:30 PM: Fireside Chat & Awards Ceremony<\/strong>
\n<\/span>Open conversation with Seth Gerber<\/a><\/span>, Co-Owner of MIDA, and Makarand Mody<\/a><\/span>, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Hospitality Marketing at BU SHA. Following the talk, Tanya Zlateva, dean ad interim of SHA,<\/a><\/span> will present the Distinguished Alumni Award to Seth Gerber<\/a><\/span> SHA\u201912, Questrom\u201921, and the Young Alumni Award to Stephen Martino<\/a><\/span> SHA\u201916.<\/p>\n

About the Alumni of the Year Award<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Alumni of the Year Award honors graduates who have significantly advanced the hospitality industry through professional excellence, visionary leadership, and community service. Recipients are selected by the School of Hospitality\u2019s advisory board and faculty based on their impactful careers and dedication to the school\u2019s mission of Experience Innovation. More information is available on the\u00a0BU SHA website<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

About Boston University School of Hospitality\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

For more than 40 years, Boston University\u2019s School of Hospitality Administration (SHA) has trained leaders who master hospitality as a strategic discipline applicable to any business where people and profit matter. SHA defines hospitality as Experience Innovation: engineering human interaction to form relationships, differentiate organizations from their competitors, and build value. It\u2019s an approach that\u2019s proven within the multitrillion-dollar hospitality sector and is being applied everywhere from healthcare to sports and entertainment. Learn how our undergraduate and graduate degree programs, including several STEM-designated master\u2019s degrees, are preparing the next generation of Experience Innovators. Visit bu.edu\/hospitality. bu.edu\/hospitality<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Press Release:<\/strong> [Boston University School of Hospitality Administration Celebrates Excellence at the Alumni of the Year Award Ceremony and Reception<\/a>]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BU SHA Celebrates Excellence at the Alumni of the Year Award Ceremony and Reception, September 2026 Boston University School of Hospitality (BU SHA) is proud to announce the annual Alumni of the Year Award Ceremony and Reception to recognize outstanding alumni who have made significant contributions to the hospitality industry. The ceremony offers a unique […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25559,"featured_media":29682,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[449,18,52],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29670"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25559"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29670"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29670\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29762,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29670\/revisions\/29762"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}