SHL Advisory Board Meets

The School of Hospitality Leadership held the fall 2020 Advisory Board meeting on Fri, Oct 16, 2020 via Microsoft Teams. It was held virtually and was attended by 32 participants that included Advisory Board members, SHL faculty and students, and COB staff members.

The SHL Advisory Board is comprised of industry partners and alumni from diverse hospitality population, tourism organizations and other business sectors. Attending were independent consultants and representatives from companies that included Aramark, Starbucks, Parks Hotels, Tarboro Brewing & On the Square, BPR Properties, Carolina Country Club, Pitt-Greenville CVB, Greater Raleigh CVB, and Red Global.

Dr. Bob O’Halloran, professor &  director of the School of Hospitality Leadership led the meeting. Each member introduced themselves and their most recent experiences. SHL faculty: Cynthia Deale, Jenna Lee, Jalayer Khalilzadeh, Craig Marshall, Stephane Bae, Terrie Hamilton, and Penny Prichard.  COB staff: Paige Hill, Michael Rudd, Lee Brown, and Kevin Williams. SHL students: Grace Faller and Zachary Stephenson.

Meeting topics included:  Faculty updates,  Enrollment: undergraduate and graduate, recent successes by faculty and students, and the SHL in general. Other highlights included:

  • SHL Advisory Board introductions and discussion: state of the industry going forward
  • Virtual SHL Career Fair planned for Feb 2021
  • Recruitment going forward:  additional industry segments interested in our graduates; healthcare, retail grocery, human resources-recruiting companies, others
  • Program Review and ACPHA Accreditation and ECU Program Review
  • Count on Me NC program https://countonmenc.org/ and SHL participation.
  • Recent Eta Sigma Delta ceremony (virtually) 16 new members
  • ENGAGE website (on campus SHL marketing): ECU  website https://engage.ecu.edu/, ECU student Club link
  • Classroom Updates: focusing on faculty and student efforts in a 100% virtual environment.
  • 2020 National Recognition from multiple ranking agencies including: Intelligent, Best Hospitality Management Degree #6, Best Online Bachelors #5, Best Online Bachelor’s Hospitality Management #13,  Most Affordable Online Master’s Hospitality Management #15
  • COB Staff members shared updates on Outreach, Communication, Virtual Career Fair, Student Advising and the ECU Fall Open House.
  • Grace Faller, an SHL undergraduate student and SHL social media coordinator provided an update on efforts in this area.

Going forward, SHL is planning for the spring semester and registration will begin Nov 6, 2020.  The  next SHL event will be the SHL Graduate Recognition Ceremony (Virtual) to be held on Dec 4, 2020 at 1pm.

A good day for all and great to see everyone. We appreciate the continued support of the SHL Advisory Board!