Hospitality Heralds
The Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management Issue #10 - Summer 2012
Notes from the Chair
Greetings and welcome to our summer edition of Hospitality Heralds. I hope you have all been able to take full advantage of the great weather this summer, and that business is booming due to the increased number of travelers visiting our state. It’s been great to witness the growth in our travel and tourism industry over the last few years and long may it continue.
A couple of weeks ago, I participated in a meeting hosted by our department to seek input from HTM professionals on the new strategic plan for Michigan tourism. It made me very excited to listen to Dr. Sarah Nicholls from MSU share some of the past successes of the ‘Pure Michigan’ campaign, knowing how our students and graduates have and will continue to see the benefit of tourism development and job creation in our state.
Click here for complete Notes from the Chair.
 
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Save the Date: 10/20/12 - HTM Alumni Homecoming Tailgater
Mark your calendar for Saturday, October 20, 2012, for the second annual HTM Alumni Homecoming Tailgater! HTM Alumni, as well as current HTM students, are invited to join HTM faculty and staff as we celebrate the 2012 GVSU Homecoming! Look for an official e-mail invitation in the upcoming weeks, and be sure to check out the event on the HTM Facebook page for more details as the time draws nearer. We look forward to seeing you there!
The HTM Department Welcomes Dr. Patty Janes to the Faculty
We are excited to announce and introduce to you, Dr. Patty Janes, the newest addition to the HTM Department. Patty will be joining us as an Associate Professor in Meetings and Event Management, and brings a wealth of experience to our program. Most recently, she was a full professor at Central Michigan University in the Recreation, Parks and Leisure Services Administration Department, where she spent the past 21 years. Patty will primarily be teaching our HTM 240 (Introduction to Meetings and Events) and HTM 253 (Convention Sales and Service).
We hope you will join us in welcoming Patty to GVSU and our program. Please look for a more complete Faculty Profile of Patty in the next issue of Hospitality Heralds.
2012 HTM/KCLA Scholarship Golf Outing a Success!
On June 27, 2012, the GVSU HTM Department again partnered with the Kent County Lodging Association to host the Fifth Annual Scholarship Golf Outing. It was a great turnout with a new venue at StoneWater Country Club.
Some of the top prizes included golf at StoneWater, overnights and dinner packages at local establishments, and current season golf equipment! The event again proved to be a time of camaraderie, bringing together hospitality professionals, faculty and students for a good cause.
Thank you to all those who attended, donated and otherwise volunteered their time. We were able to once again raise a great deal of money for student scholarships. We look forward to seeing everyone in 2013!
Click here for pictures from this year's outing.
HTM Professors Honored with 'Best Paper Award' at CHME Conference
Paul Stansbie, Kristen Jack and Robert Nash (ex GVSU HTM) presented a paper at the 21st Annual Council for Hospitality Management Education (CHME) Conference in Birmingham, England on 9th – 10th May, 2012.
The paper was a study examining the role of experiential education, in the form of internships, and how it plays a key part in the professional development of Hospitality and Tourism Management students. In particular, the paper analyzed the internship through an evaluation of job design by applying both Hackman and Oldham’s (1975a) Job Characteristics Model (JCM) and developing a proposed intern’s version of that model. The outcomes demonstrated that dimensions of the work undertaken during the internship do contribute significantly to an individual’s satisfaction and intrinsic motivation. A comparison of the two models demonstrated that the proposed intern’s model offers improved R2 coefficients, over the original JCM, by using different predictive variables and thus was seen as a better guide for designing effective internship
experiences.
The paper was awarded the conference’s “Best Paper in a Theme Award,” which was sponsored by Emerald Publishers.
Also at this conference, Dr. Mike Sciarini (Associate Professor of HTM), was invited to deliver the keynote address to a number of academics representing European and International Universities all teaching HTM. His interactive discussion addressed teaching, learning and assessment within the HTM curriculum and what educators can expect from technological advancements into the future.
Understanding Cuisine and Culture: Cucina Paradiso
Written by Dr. Charles Baker-Clark, Ph.D.
In HTM 175, International Cuisine and Culture, we learn that one way to understand different societies is through their food traditions. One particular topic in the course is an overview of the foods of Sicily, described by Clifford A. Wright (1992) as Cucina Paradiso, the heavenly food of Sicily.
Click here for complete article.
Former HTM Adjunct Professor Selected to Cook for Athletes at 2012 Summer Olympics in London
Former HTM Adjunct Professor, and current GVSU Executive Chef, Paul Mixa, was selected to be a chef for the athletes competing in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. We congratulate him on being selected for such an honor! Below are two articles about Paul, and his thoughts on being a chef at the Olympics.
Click here for GVNow article on Paul Mixa.
Click here for MLive article on Paul Mixa.
HTM Course Offered in Theme Park Management and Operations
HTM 380, Theme Park Management and Operations, Spring 2012.
Assistant Professor A. Scott Rood conducted the course in a seminar format, including student topic requests discussed during the first class meeting. The focus was on applied contemporary readings, with student’s selecting articles from Funworld (an industry magazine), and leading much of the discussion.
A highlight for many students were class visits from Jon Roost (HTM alumni with amusement park supervisory experience), John Kitchen (former Casting Recruiter for Disney) and Marcie Lemke (Disney College Program Recruiter). Special thanks to Sarah Parsons and Katie Simek (HTM alumni) who are presently working at Disney and participated via a video chat. Attached is a photo of the class with Jeep Osborn, Regional Manager for Craig’s Cruisers.
The outing at Craig’s Cruisers (June 7) helped illustrate classroom discussions with real-world experiences in operating family entertainment centers.
Click here for full-sized picture of HTM 380 students at Craig's Cruisers.
HTM 202 Visits Grand Rapids Coffee Roasters
Written by Dr. Michael Scantlebury, Ph.D.
Although my current preference is for the Ethiopian Queen City Harrar Fair Trade Organic, or the Jamaican Blue Mountain, but in a pinch almost any coffee will suffice. Coffee is clearly the beverage of preference of many GVSU students and this HTM class was no exception. According to the 2012 National Coffee Association study, coffee is the beverage consumed by 64% of persons 18+ years of age and represents an average spend of approximately $165 per coffee drinker per annum.
All coffees are not created equal and the International Tourism class on May 31, learned the subtle differences as they enjoyed the adventure of the field trip to Grand Rapids Coffee Roasters (GRCR) www.grandrapidscoffee.com.
Click here for complete article.
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