The possibility of OSU-Cascades starting a 4-year hospitality degree program means that the Cascade Culinary Institute may eventually be incorporated into it in some way.

OSU-Cascades Vice President Becky Johnson says part of hospitality curriculum will involve restaurant and food service on an executive level:  "They'll have classes at the culinary institute, very specialized ones that could be very beneficial to our students. So I definitely see leveraging that program. It won't be a 2+2. Most of the students that come out of the culinary program are interested as working as chefs. Whereas, our program will be a broader hospitality degree for people in hotels, restaurants, resorts, golf courses, any of those kinds of hospitality industries."

Johnson says the COCC students can transfer to the OSU-Cascades program with some credits, but it will not count for the two years they attended COCC.

Cascade Culinary Institute Executive Director Gene Fritz is working with Johnson to find the best professor to head up the hospitality program.