CHR Appoints Robert J. Kwortnik as Academic Director

Robert J. Kwortnik has been appointed the academic director of the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration.

With a three-year term as CHR academic director that begins on 1 July 2012, Kwortnik, an associate professor of services marketing at the School of Hotel Administration, succeeds Rohit Verma, professor of service operations management, who has led the CHR for the past three years.

"This is a tremendous opportunity," said Kwortnik, "I am looking forward to extending the CHR's research connections with the hospitality industry. In particular, I want to focus on what the industry as a whole can learn from studying cases of individual companies."

A graduate of Temple University, Kwortnik also holds a Ph.D. from that institution, and was previously a travel industry consultant and marketer. A recognized expert on the leisure cruise industry, he has had considerable industry involvement, including developing sales and marketing training programs for Marriott International, the American Automobile Association, the National Tour Association, and the Cruise Lines International Association.

Although Verma's term as CHR director is ending, he continues as chair of the second Cornell Hospitality Research Summit, scheduled for 8-9 October 2012, at the School of Hotel Administration.

"Professor Kwortnik is a very well respected scholar with research expertise in the design, management, marketing, and consumption of service experiences," Verma said. "He is also a highly regarded teacher in our school's undergraduate, master's, and executive education programs. At the 20th anniversary of CHR, there could not have been a better choice of its next Academic Director. I look forward to working with him and under his leadership as he steers CHR towards excellence."

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