VIDEO: Navin Dimond builds a legacy of opportunity at MSU Denver

The 2025 Marathon Award honors his enduring commitment to students, community and hospitality education.

Polina Saran and Laura Miller

June 04, 2025

When Janine Davidson, Ph.D., president of Metropolitan State University of Denver, first met Navin Dimond, she wasn’t yet in charge of the University. She was a candidate, interviewing for the role, and Dimond was part of the search committee. That initial encounter, followed by a thoughtful interview held in one of Dimond’s hotels, left a lasting impression.

“He really cares about this community,” Davidson said. “And he really wants to make sure that we bring out the best in Denver.”

That same commitment has earned Dimond the 2025 Marathon Award, which recognizes individuals whose transformative contributions have made a lasting impact on the University. As the founder and chairman of Stonebridge Companies, a national hotel-ownership and -management firm, Dimond is a celebrated figure in the hospitality industry. But for the Roadrunner community, he’s something more: a mentor, a benefactor and a believer in what MSU Denver stands for.

Born and raised in the U.K. by parents who immigrated from India, Dimond credits his achievements to the opportunities he received through education. That belief in education, and in the potential of hardworking students, is what brought him to MSU Denver.

“I have a core belief that every human being has the innate mental capacity to do anything,” Dimond said. “It doesn’t matter what your socioeconomic class is, where you came from, where your parents are, whether they had education or not. It doesn’t matter. You matter.”

That core belief led Dimond and his wife, Rita, to establish the Dimond Fellows Program to provide hands-on experience for students in MSU Denver’s School of Hospitality. Fellows engage with every level of hotel operations, bridging the gap between classroom learning and real-world leadership.

“It’s a prestigious opportunity,” Davidson said. “(The Dimonds) created it, they run it, and they mentor students every year. Navin is a role model — not just because of the company he’s built but how he models it with his family. They all tell an amazing story about what can be done if you really care about your community.”

The Marathon Award isn’t given lightly. It’s reserved for those whose influence endures and shapes MSU Denver’s future. In honoring Dimond, the University celebrates not only a successful entrepreneur but a partner in its mission.

For Dimond, the students are the real winners. His advice to them is to “stay focused; do not compromise your foundation … your honesty, your integrity, your ethics.”

“You will get to where you want to go,” he said. “And you know there’s always going to be challenges along the journey, but the challenges are your opportunity.”