Cornell University School of Hotel Administration

School of Hotel Administration
Established	1922
Type	Private
Dean	Michael D. Johnson
Academic staff	38
Undergraduates	842[1]
Postgraduates	89
Location	Ithaca, New York, USA
Website	www.hotelschool.cornell.edu

The School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University is a specialized business school^[2] for hospitality management founded in 1922 as the first four-year intercollegiate school devoted to the field. It is one of a few hospitality management schools in the country that is not part of another academic department, school, or college, though until 1950, it was operated as a department within the New York State College of Home Economics. Cornellians generally refer to it as the Hotel School, and its students and alumni as Hotelies.^[3]

The School of Hotel Administration

History

The nature of the Hotel School was in large part the creation of professor Howard B. Meek. He was supported in his efforts by New York City hotel men, a number of whom testified in Albany, urging the legislature to appropriate $11,000 per year for the school. Edward M. Tierney of the Ansonia Hotel stated "There is a dearth of competent hotel employes [sic], and such a course at Cornell would have the endorsement and co-operation of the hotel men generally throughout the country... The war brought a great change in the hotel worker, and the old-time attitude of servility has been replaced by efficient service giving and courtesy. Young men now enter the hotel business just as they would banking, railroad, or commercial life, to find a future in it, and the hotel man must offer the same attractions of commensurate pay and advancement."

In 1927, at the 2nd Annual Hotel Ezra Cornell, Meek convinced a skeptical Ellsworth Milton Statler of the value of the concept; Statler declared "I'm converted. Meek can have any damn thing he wants." Statler and his wife became major benefactors of the school, eventually donating a total of more than $10 million. In 1950, the school was transformed from being a part of a statutory college into becoming an endowed unit of Cornell.

In 1948, the Statler Foundation funded the construction of a 50-room Statler Inn and the adjoining class-room building called Statler Hall. The building also housed Cornell's faculty club. The 750-seat Alice Statler Auditorium was added to the southern end in 1956.^[4] In 1986, the original Statler Inn was torn down and replaced with the current 150-room Statler Hotel & J. Willard Marriott Executive Education Center. The Statler Hotel underwent another renovation in 2006 and now has 153 guest rooms. The Statler Hotel is the only hotel on campus.

Profile

The school enrolled 824 undergraduates and 89 graduate students in 2008, hailing from almost 50 countries; it is Cornell's second smallest undergraduate college. Its curriculum encompasses all facets of general business management with a focus on the hospitality industry. Although not required, many students choose to work at the Statler Hotel to supplement their education at the school. The Hotel School employs 38 full-time faculty members, most with field management experience.

In 1954, Conrad Hilton, who was closely associated with the school after his company bought the Statler hotel chain, called it "the greatest hotel school in the world."^[5] Conrad Hilton later became more closely associated with another school after he founded the Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston in 1969.

The Hotel School's course catalog includes several offerings popular among students in other Cornell colleges, notably HADM 4430, Introduction to Wines, a wine tasting course which enrolls 600–900 students each semester, as well as a 2-credit cooking course.

The Hotel School also boasts technical courses such as Real Estate Finance and Investments (HADM 4428), Securitization and Structured Finance (HADM 4425), and Investment Portfolio Analysis (HADM 4429). Roughly 40% of undergraduates go into banking or consulting fields after graduation.

In a 2007 Newsweek article dubbing Cornell has the "Hottest Ivy," the Hotel School was mentioned to be "considered the world's best."^[6]

Fictional Hotelies have included:

• In Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart, a hotel manager attended the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration because it was the only Ivy League school he got into
• In Dirty Dancing, Neil
• In 30 Rock, Tracy Jordan's friend, Fat Balls

Some notable alumni of the school include the founders of Alamo Rent-A-Car; Arby's; Burger King; Dunkin Donuts; Duty Free Shoppers stores at international airports; Hotel Valuation Services; and PriceWaterhouseCoopers Global Hospitality Consulting.

Degrees

The School of Hotel Administration offers the following degrees on both undergraduate and graduate levels:

• Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Hotel Administration ^[7]

Concentrations include those in Corporate Finance, Real Estate Finance, Investment Portfolio Analysis, Consulting, Accounting, Development, Food and Beverage, Marketing, Information Systems, and Law.

• Master of Management in Hospitality (M.M.H)
• Master's degree (Master of Science, M.S.) (through the Cornell University Graduate School)
• Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) (through the Cornell University Graduate School)

Statler Hotel

Lobby and students at the Statler Hotel

The full-service Statler Hotel has 153 guest rooms at the center of Cornell's campus. The hotel also serves as a primary teaching tool for the Hotel School. Each year more than 200 Hotel School students work alongside professionals in a range of hotel and restaurant operations.

In 2011, the Statler Hotel was awarded a 4-diamond rating by AAA.

References

• Huxtable, Ada Louise (1973), "Hospitality and the Plastic Esthetic," The New York Times, October 14, 1973, p. 153
• New York Times, January 22, 1922, p. 33: "Hotel Men Approve Cornell Training: Hope Legislature Will Appropriate $11,000 a Year for Educating Help."
• History of the Hotel School "Meek can have any damn thing he wants."
• Brad Edmonson, Hospitality Leadership: The Cornell Hotel School. (1996)

Notes

1. ^ http://www.dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000176.pdf
2. ^ Cornell also offers general business degrees, at the undergraduate level through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and at the graduate level through the Johnson School.
3. ^ http://www.ameinfo.com/133736.html, checked October 2, 2007
4. ^ "2033-STATLER HALL & AUDITORIUM Facility Information". http://www.fs.cornell.edu/fs/facinfo/fs_facilInfo.cfm?facil_cd=2033. Retrieved 2010-02-18. 
5. ^ At Cornell School, No Expense Spared; Tim Minton; The New York Times April 25, 1979, p. C4: "In 1954 Conrad Hilton... was addressing the celebrants. 'He had just said that it was a distinct honor to speak at the greatest hotel school in the world,' recounts Dr. Beck, who was then a doctoral candidate, 'when just at that moment—it couldn't have been timed more perfectly—a wagon went over in the kitchen. It sounds like every plate, bowl and glass in the place had hit the floor.'"
6. ^ "25 Hottest Schools". http://www.newsweek.com/id/32225/page/1. 
7. ^ Cornell University School of Hotel Administration - Academics accessed 09-27-2007

External links

• School of Hotel Administration
• Explore Cornell: School of Hotel Administration
• History of the School and the Nestlé Library
• The Center for Hospitality Research
• Cornell Hospitality Quarterly