It's been 78 years since the education committee of the Michigan Hotel Association met with Michigan State College President Kenyon Butterfield to discuss hotel training at the college and the first hospitality course was established. The School of Hospitality Business has since grown into one of the most prominent schools in the world.
Today, The School of Hospitality Business conducts cutting-edge research and teaches courses that are unique to MSU. During the 2004-05 academic year, Director and Professor Ron Cichy, in addition to publishing many journal articles, wrote two books that are used for hospitality curriculum worldwide: Food Safety: Managing the HACCP Process and Managing Beverage Service.
The National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) Professor in Hospitality Business Michael Kasavana, one of the world's leading researchers in hospitality technology and vending, publishes numerous journal articles and is quoted in top media publications including The New York Times. He recently published an article in Automatic Merchandiser Magazine titled, "Cashless Vending: New Opportunities."
Assistant Professor Jeff Beck and Professor Bonnie Knutson conduct extensive research regarding marketing and sales challenges in the hospitality industry, and both are frequently quoted in major media publications. For instance, Knutson was recently quoted in a USA Today article titled, "Companies Give Front-Line Employees More Power." Knutson, Beck, Kasavana, Cichy and Assistant Professor A.J. Singh all recently published an article in Advances in Hospitality and Leisure titled, "Marketing to Lodging, Food Service and Club Consumers in the Future: A Delphi Study to Predict Marketing Management in 2007."
Hilton Hotels Professor of Hospitality Financial Management Ray Schmidgall served as president of the Michigan Chapter of the Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education and helped launch the first Great Lakes Research Conference.
Other faculty members, including Associate Professor Carl Borchgrevink, Assistant Professor Jeff Elsworth and Professor Jack Ninemeier, also continue to create new knowledge through cutting-edge research, thus furthering The School's national prominence.
