Titus Center for Franchising Announces 2021 Scholarship Recipients

Titus Center for Franchising
Published: November 18th, 2021

Five endowed scholarships advance academic study in franchising concentration.

November 18, 2021 // Franchising.com // WEST PALM BEACH, Florida - Palm Beach Atlantic University’s Titus Center for Franchising has awarded a record-setting five scholarships for 2021. Each of the $2,500 scholarships went to students enrolled in the university’s Rinker School of Business pursing a concentration in franchising with their academic majors. All recipients have earned a minimum 3.0 G.P.A. and demonstrated a commitment to the university’s core values, including community service.

The scholarships and their recipients include:

• The J.J. Prendamano Endowed Scholarship awarded to Umberto Rosi, PBA Class of 2022 studying management and franchising. Rosi is the co-founder of the Give Back Community. This scholarship is named for J.J. Prendamano, who was the general manager at United Franchise Group for over 25 years.
• The Seiber Family Endowed Scholarship awarded to Eva Bacciale, PBA Class of 2020 with a degree in marketing, accounting and franchising and PBA Class of 2021 pursuing a Master’s of Business Administration. The scholarship was established by Geoff Seiber, CEO and founder of FranFund®, and his wife, Sherri, FranFund’s COO, to “help PBA students achieve dreams they might otherwise think are impossible.”
• The Don Dwyer, Sr. Endowed Scholarship awarded to Micah Droescher, PBA Class of 2023 studying marketing and franchising. Droescher also recently signed an agreement as a franchisee of The Patch Boys. The late Don Dwyer, founder of The Dwyer Group (now known as Neighborly), used to tell his associates, “I don’t see you for what you are. I see you for what you could be.” Dwyer helped thousands of individuals worldwide see themselves for what they could be, and his family established a scholarship in his name for students of the Titus Center.
• The Chick-fil-A West Palm Beach Franchise Scholarship awarded to Mitchell Nolan, PBA Class of 2022 in international business and franchising. Nolan is also the vice president of sales at OperandiFi. Rob Morris, franchisee of Chick-fil-A in West Palm Beach, Fla., established the scholarship to provide ongoing financial assistance to students at the Titus Center. Morris also employs PBA students as Chick-fil-A interns and has helped many graduates become franchisees. He values franchising as a career and believes in franchise education.
• The Kobel Family Endowed Scholarship awarded to Kyle Foster, PBA Class of 2021 in marketing and franchising. Foster is currently an intern at Retro Fitness and the Titus Center for Franchising and previously completed an internship at BurgerFi. Ed and Becky Kobel established this scholarship to empower the next generation of young leaders and said, “The goal is to embody our youth to learn, forge and abide with Jesus and to change the world.”

The scholarship recipients were recognized at a special ceremony during the Nov. 17 meeting of the Titus Center’s advisory board on campus.

“We are extremely proud of our students and blessed by the five sponsors of these scholarships for 2021,” said John P. Hayes, CFE, director of the Titus Center for Franchising and the Titus Chair for Franchise Leadership at Palm Beach Atlantic University. “The competition for these scholarships was fierce. We could have used another five scholarships at least to give to qualified students. We are very fortunate to have 50 students enrolled in our franchise concentration and the students are fortunate to have these scholarships. We look forward to growing both our scholarship program and the number of students in our concentration.”

For more information on the Titus Center for Franchising visit, https://www.pba.edu/academics/schools/centers/titus-franchising/

About The Titus Center For Franchising

Founded in 2017, the Titus Center for Franchising is housed in the Rinker School of Business at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, FL. It’s the only center of its kind dedicated to franchising; students complete 12 credit hours to earn a concentration in franchising as part of a business degree in marketing or management. The center was endowed by franchisor Ray Titus, founder and CEO of United Franchise Group, who gave the university a $1.5 million gift. The center is dedicated to educating people about franchising and preparing them to become employees of franchise companies, franchisees and franchisors. Dr. John P. Hayes is the director.

SOURCE The Titus Center For Franchising