This year, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Hamburger University (HU), which commemorates McDonald’s rich training heritage. HU is a demonstration of McDonald’s investment in our leaders over the past 50 years. It’s an investment that benefits not only our employees, but the company and community as well.

In 1961, HU began in a McDonald’s restaurant basement in Elk Grove Village, Ill. with 15 graduates in the first class. In the five decades since, HU has grown into a world-class center of excellence to develop and train employees and establish consistent restaurant standards around the globe.

To date, more than 275,000 McDonald’s franchisees, employees and suppliers have graduated from Hamburger University worldwide.

We invite you, our proud alums, to share stories and memories from your experiences at HU on Facebook.

Hamburger University: Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow