The Robert Qualls Scholarship Fund is an educational scholarship opportunity created by Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits in memory of Robert Qualls, an extraordinary hospitality and spirits industry veteran. Started in 2021, the scholarship fund will award a total of $100,000 in scholarships over five years to students pursuing a hospitality-related degree.  

The Robert Qualls Scholarship Fund strives to honor and uphold Robert’s legacy of hard work, generosity and selflessness by empowering students to follow in his footsteps. After attending the University of Texas at Austin, Robert started his career in the hospitality industry as a distributor sales representative. Throughout his forty-year career, which included  leadership roles at Southern Glazer’s and Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Robert helped to build brands, manage complex businesses and mentor the next generation of spirits industry professionals.

“Robert was the kind of genuine, loyal friend that most people are lucky to meet in their lifetime,” said Tito Beveridge, founder of Tito’s Handmade Vodka. “Smart, optimistic and perpetually beaming, Robert was a true gentleman with a heart bigger than the state he was born in. His commitment to making Tito’s better every day was an inspiration to not only me, but every single person he worked with. Robert was a one-of-kind mentor, and this scholarship not only serves to honor his memory, but also to help jumpstart the studies and careers of students nationwide who seek to follow in his footsteps.”