Auburn University
Auburn University
Auburn University

News and Events

End of 2008: Hospitality Honor Society Initiation Ceremony.
The Auburn University Student Chapter of Eta Sigma Delta International Hospitality Honor Society will hold our annual initiation ceremony on December 17, 2008 at the Auburn University Hotel and Conference Center.

Eta Sigma Delta is a professional international honor society that recognizes exceptional academic achievement among hospitality and tourism students. For more information, please contact our Chapter President, Ms. Emily Dorman (dormaer@auburn.edu/), or the Faculty Advisor, Dr. Alecia Douglas (acdouglas@auburn.edu).

End of 2008: HRMT Faculty Outstanding Achievement Award.
The Decision Sciences Institute (39th Annual Meeting, Baltimore, Maryland, November 22-26, 2008) awarded the paper entitled “The effect of information technology (IT) steering committees on perceived IT management sophistication in hotels” the best application paper.

End of 2008: HRMT Program Director presenting at Italian conference in Bozen/Bolzano.
Professor Martin O'Neill, Director of the HRMT program will be presenting the paper entitled "Defining visitor satisfaction in the context of car-camping oriented nature-based tourism - the driving force of quality!" at the Consumer Behavior in Tourism Symposium (http://bz-tourism.eu/cbts2008/).

2009: HRMT graduates presenting at Las Vegas Conference.
Graduate students Douglas Murray and Megan Johnson are to attend and present at the 14th Annual Graduate Student Conference, Harrah College, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (January 3rd to January 6, 2009).

Douglas’ presentation examines employer preference and attractiveness to current hospitality through examination of sustainable development behaviors. The research was conducted through a survey instrument which was administered to students enrolled in hospitality programs at four U.S. universities.

Analysis of 341 responses indicated that current industry practice of corporate philanthropy as the primary vehicle of social responsibility is outmoded and new behaviors emphasizing diversity and human rights are needed to increase attractiveness to current students, especially women, who are a significant majority of the current student population.

Signaling such behaviors can impact recruiting advantage for companies that institute them to bridge the looming staffing gap as the baby boom generation begins to exit the workforce. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are presented.

Megan's presentation is entitled "Water everywhere but will there be enough to drink?" The following abstract discusses her study in a nutshell:

“Going Green” has become a new buzz phrase of society. Individuals and businesses are increasingly concerned about the environment and the effects their actions are having. Recycling, re-use, and conservation programs are becoming mainstream words thrown about in society. While many conservation programs exist, restaurants fall into a category of extreme difficulty when trying to do their part due to sanitation and health laws.

Some waste is unavoidable, however lack of information and education may account for excessive waste in the food service industry. The purpose of this exploratory study is to evaluate the development and use of simple procedures that restaurants could implement to do their part in the “greening” of society, specifically with water usage and conservation.

The intent of the outcome from this research is to increase awareness of water conservation methods and develop a model that can be used in commercial foodservice operations.