News from the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management
eHTMNews
News from The School of Hospitality and Tourism Management
Winter 2005 – Issue 01
The MBA Lecture Series…
Tom Penney, VP Planning and Product Innovation and Enhancement, The Canadian Tourism Commission, gave a public lecture on "Tourism Innovation Partnerships: a partnership established and led by tourism industry stakeholders who pool their resources to achieve the program's objectives in partnership with CTC.” For more information on CTC please visit
Previous Lecture Series guests in 2004 and 2005 includedTony Pollard, President, Hotel Association of Canada; Patrick Gedge, VP Marketing and Sales, Canadian Tourism Commission; Graham Busby, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Social Science and Business, University of Plymouth; Philip Smith, High Commissioner, The Bahamas High Commission; Bruce Andrew, VP Central Region Operations, Van Houtte Café; and David Spragge, VP Foodservice, Dr. Oetker Canada. Look for updates on the School’s website for the April 6th panel discussion lead by professor Stefan Gröschl.
Training Needs Assessment…
Professor Geoff Smith is working in collaboration with RyersonUniversity for the Ontario Tourism Education Corporation (OTEC) to conduct a “Training Needs Assessment” for the Tourism Industry of Ontario. This study is commissioned by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. Please take 5 minutes to provide your input by completing the on line survey following the link:
Taboo chefs connected with students .…
Celebrated chefs, Michael Pataran and Jay Scaife from Taboo Resort (Muskoka, Ontario)visited the School as invited “Chefs in Residence”. The School’s own chef, Simon Day,provided his fine dining class with this opportunity to work with other professionals and to try new skills. Pataran and Scaife together with the students hosted a “very” fine dining event on March 10th for the student chapter and members of the Canadian Foodservice Professionals Association – Toronto area. For more information on Taboo and their chefs, please check the website
HTM Alumni getting together…
Mark your calendars for May 12 from 6:00pm – 9:00 pm for a fabulous wine tasting at Hemingway’s Restaurant (416) 968-2828 at142 Cumberland Street,Toronto. This event is open to all alumni, current students, family and friends. Check the website for more updates.
For alumni living in Guelph and surrounding area, the School will be hosting a summer BBQ on Saturday May 28 to showcase the new restaurant and kitchen addition. The event will be informal and we encourage all of those interested to bring something for the School’s garden. BYOB, bring your own bulb! The campus gardener will be planting them in the soil to reflect the involvement and presence of our alumni for years to come. For more information and for a specific list of items needed for the garden, please check the updates in the School’s website at To confirm your presence at the BBQ, please e-mail to or phone (519) 824-4120 ext. 56759.
NEW Atrium Restaurantexpanding its operation…
The teaching Restaurant at the School will be open for the first time during the summer months, managed by chef Simon Day and a team of students offering a varied menu. For more information and updates on hours of operation and specific menus,please check the restaurant’swebsite
MBA reaching out internationally…
The University conferred Master of Business Administration degrees in Hospitality and Tourism Management on 35 successful graduates in February. This group of students hailed from all across Canada, as well as Bermuda, Thailand, Brazil and China. The winter convocation was preceded by a celebration brunch held in the Atrium dining room and attended by over 80 graduates and their guests. Service was provided by the School’s own chef Simon Day and a team of talented undergraduate students.
The Faculty of Management is still accepting applications for the Distance MBA in Hospitality & Tourism Management.
Executives in residence outlook …
Each Fall and Winter semester the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management invites a successful and prominent industry executive to our Guelph campus to speak and meet with students.To date,several executives have graciously accepted our invitation and have delivered outstanding presentations to our students providing them with a current and fresh industry outlook, answering questions and motivating young minds towards the development of a career in the hospitality industry. These special guests stay 3 days on campus and participate in public lectures, classes and University events. Our most recent guests were Ryan Pennie (right picture), V.P. Canada, UBF Foodsolutionsand Virginia Cooper (left picture), CEO, CasaLoma.
Previous executives includeRobert Demone, Canadian Pacific Hotels (1998), Gunter Otto, Cara Operations Ltd. (1999), Graham Oliver, Tim Hortons (1999), Wendy Swedlove, Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council (2000), Doug Fyfe, Tourism Toronto (2000), John Sharpe, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts (2001), Joe van Koeverden, Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation (2001), Lyle Hall, KPMG (2002), Bill Johnson, McDonald’s Canada (2002), Alain Piallat, Marriott Lodging Canada (2003), Kevin Galagher and Donna Dooher, The Cookworks (2004),
MDP – Life long learning for executives…
Every year, the School delivers state of the art management development programs to professionals in the hospitality, tourism, and related industries. AMPHI (Advanced Management Program for the Hospitality Industry) is offered in 4 modules starting on April 30th till May 15th. HMDC (Hospitality Managers Development Course) is offered in a 6 day residential format starting on May 28th till June 2nd. For more information or to discuss custom programs contact Professor GeoffSmith or check the School’s website
The Distance Graduate Programs: A"world classroom"…
The Distance MBA and MA Leadership programs designed for mid-career professionals are a strategic focus of the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management.
Dr. Michael Cox, Graduate Program Coordinatoris leading the development by working closely with leading organizations in hospitality, government and service industries to ensure the programsare aligned to the changing context. Michael says the success of the distance graduate programs is founded on a shared dialogue and partnership with the policy advisory board, industry and government. For information on graduate programs visit: and
Faculty achievements …
The School's Director, Professor Marion Joppe, participated as a panelist at the Regional Connect Event of the Women's Foodservice Forum (WFF) on March 1, 2005. The WFF engages the foodservice industry to develop leadership talent and ensure career advancement for executive women. It is recognized for leading the transformation of the foodservice and hospitality industry by enhancing the industry's business performance through gender diverse leadership. This year's competency of focus was Visioning and Setting Direction. Dr. Joppe shared the panel with Eileen Campbell, Senior Director of Culinary Development, Chartwells, Compass Canada and owner, Esculent Food Consulting, and Alice Wheelwright, Vice President Industry Marketing, Ecolab Inc. and incoming Chair of WFF.
Professor Tanya MacLaurin was an invited guest speaker at the Culinary Tourism Symposium on March 6th – 8th hosted by GeorgeBrownCollege. Tanya gave 3 presentations on sensory evaluation and the development of culinary tourism products. On the opening night, theSchool’s chefSimon Day and his crew showcased products developed at the University of Guelph campus by the Office of Research. Simon showcased appetizers created with artic char, honey, apples and potatoes developed on campus.
Professor Iain Murray will present his research on rural culinary tourism in northern Iceland at the International Culinary Tourism Association (ICTA) Annual Conference in San Francisco in May 2005. Murray’s research takes a three-pronged approach that aims at menu engineering for restaurateurs, product placement for food retailers, and packaging and labeling for food producers/manufacturers. From there, he will proceed directly to the Tourism Educator’s Conference (TEC) in Whitehorse, Yukon. As an invited speaker, he will present on rural culinary tourism and its inclusion in tourism education. The TEC will be a unique “rolling conference” as sessions will take place, in part, aboard highway cruisers during two days of travel between Whitehorse, Haines Junction, and Skagway,Alaska. The keynote address will occur on board the ms Volendam cruise ship in Skagway. Information for the two conferences can be found at: and
The School will be represented in full force at TTRA International this summer. Papers accepted will be presented in New Orleans, June 2005; Novie Johan and Marion Joppe “Tourism and Quality of Life (TQOL): Is There a Commonality of Views Among Resident Travelers?” Chris Choi “Examining Sustainable Tourism Variables: A Test of the Extended Social Exchange Theory.” Chris Choi. “Enhancing Sustainable Tourism Through Training: An Exploratory Study.” Dongkoo Yun, Marion Joppe, Chris Choi, “An Examination of Structural Models of the Relationships between Travel Agencies and Hotels.” Cathy Ralston and May Aung had a poster accepted titled “Canadian and Dutch Hotel Customers’ Demands Toward Hotel Facilities and Services.”
Research is ongoing to ensure the School of HTM is at the forefront in e-learning, knowledge management and leadership competency development. Professor Michael Cox recently published and presented on these topics at The Fourth International Conference on Knowledge, Culture and Change in Organizations; The InternationalJournal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Professor Joan Flahertyis presenting a paper at the University’s Conference on May 17th “Writing to Learn, Learning to Write”. She will also present a session at the “Teaching Professor Conference” on May 21 in Chicago entitled “Zen and the Art of Effective Teaching.”
Professors Julia ChristensenHughes and Geoff Smithdelivered a 2-day workshop as part of the pre-conference program for the HRPAO on January 31st and February 1st at the Sheraton Hotel in Toronto. The program entitled “Strategic Human Resources Management in the Hospitality Industry.” Itwas designed to meet the learning needs of mid- to senior-level human resource professionals in the hospitality and food service sectors. The workshop enabled participants to enhance their HR leadership abilities and champion the visibility, credibility and strategic importance of human resources within their organization.
Professor Geoff Smith has been selected to receive one of the 2004-2006 Presidential Distinguished Professor and Librarian Awards in recognition of his contributions through teaching and service.
Students on the go…
Arlene Setacci, president of the student council and Alison Penden,co-founded a student chapter of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA).The main purpose of the 35 member student chapter is to provide an industry link for students who are interested in pursuing a career in the Meetings and Conventions Industry. In January 2005 together with a group of 10 other HTM students they traveled to Honolulu, Hawaii, for the Annual PCMA conference. “It was an exhilarating experience” says Arlene, who was able to meet with over 2,500 MEEC (Meetings, Exhibitions, Events and Conferences) industry professionals, listen to motivating speakers and participate in numerous networking activities. Since then, Arlene and Alison have organized the Leadership conference at the University of Guelph and are working on succession planning for the coming year.