The K-State Olathe hospitality management program has continued to grow in the last year, under the direction of Dr. Brett Horton, Professor of Practice. Brett is excited about the future of the program and stated, “We at K-State Olathe are working to educate the next generation of hospitality leaders. The students Work in KC, Live in KC, and are completing their degree’s in KC. It is an honor to lead a robust discussion weekly with a talented group of hospitality leaders”, Horton said. Continue reading “K-State Olathe Hospitality Management Program Continues to Grow”
Alumni Spotlight
Dr. Jeffrey Miller, who received his Master of Science Degree in Institutional Management in 1995 has written a new book, Avocado: A Global History. It is one of three books that he has released. He is an associate professor and for a dozen years was program coordinator for hospitality management in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Colorado State University. Continue reading “Alumni Spotlight”
Jang named treasurer for central I-CHRIE board
Jichul Jang, associate professor in hospitality management, has been named Central I-CHRIE Treasurer for a two-year term. The International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education, I-CHRIE, is a non-profit professional association that provides programs and services to continually improve the quality of global education, research, service and business operations in the hospitality and tourism industry. Continue reading “Jang named treasurer for central I-CHRIE board”
A Message from the Department Head
Welcome to the Department of Hospitality Management 2019 fall newsletter. We just celebrated Thanksgiving and the end of the semester is close, followed by finals and commencement ceremonies. We had many exciting events, visitors and accomplishments that have occurred over the past year. In the following pages, we’ve highlighted several of the more notable ones. I encourage you to read through our newsletter for interesting information from our department. Continue reading “A Message from the Department Head”
Department Faculty Highlight
Ashley McCowan
Born and raised in Georgia, Ashley is joining us from the College of Veterinary Medicine on campus where she worked as an Event Coordinator for the last 5 years, helping to plan the college’s events, conferences and managing alumni affairs. Prior to Vet Med, she worked with a sports management and entertainment company, The Colonnade Group, as an Assistant Director of Crimson Tide Hospitality and Director of Ahearn Fund Athletic Hospitality, working in the premium seating and club areas within the athletic departments. Ashley is a graduate of the Restaurant and Hospitality Management program from the University of Alabama and has her master’s degree in Sport Management and Administration from there as well. She was a competitive gymnast all the way through college and still enjoys all aspects of the sport. Ashley’s husband, Josh, works in the Athletic Department with the Ahearn Fund. They are expecting their first child in December.
Ericka Bauer
Ericka started at K-State in September of 2019 moving from Orlando, FL after earning her master’s degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management, and two graduate certificates from the University of Central Florida.
She has worked in alternating food service operations for 20 years and has transitioned over to the academic side of the hospitality industry, educating the next generation of hospitality students to become successful leaders in the industry. She has worked for several notable companies including Club Med, The Walt Disney Company, Aramark, and Southern Foodservice Management; as well as many independent restaurants including one of the top ranked restaurants in Philadelphia.
Ericka cooked 2 years for the University of Central Florida athletics and is enjoying Wildcat football along with basketball, and is transitioning from Penn State University ice cream to KSU Call Hall ice cream. She was surprised about the local delicacy of cinnamon rolls pairing with chili. She also enjoys hiking the Appalachian Trail and can’t wait to hike the Konza.
3rd Annual Hospitality Summit
Fifteen students in the Business Events Management senior capstone class planned and facilitated this year’s Hospitality Summit on October 30, 2019.
The event was hosted in the K-State Alumni Center, and featured a full day of events. The Summit began with internship presentations by HM 375 students.
After presentations, students had the choice of two breakout sessions to learn about entrepreneurship or off premise catering. Then students went to the Keynote speaker.
The keynote speaker for this event was K-State Hospitality Management graduate Husam Kakish. He works at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. His presentation detailed how he got to where he is by taking the road less traveled.
After the keynote speaker, students ate a sandwich and side lunch catered by Lacy’s and enjoyed a networking lunch session. Then students attended their final workshop session choosing between owning and operating a private event venue, and a social media workshop.