Category: RHM

Supporting Student Success

5/14/2019

Dr. Chen

Dr. Shatina Chen, assistant professor in Human Nutrition & Hospitality Management, was nominated to receive recognition through the Extra Credit program in Parent & Family Programs. The Extra Credit program is an initiative within the Division of Student Life that gives parents and family members the opportunity to nominate faculty and staff members who have made a unique difference to their UA student. Nominations are collected each semester and recipients are notified with a letter and small token of appreciation. Below are the comments a parent submitted for Dr. Chen:

“Dr. Chen has been a wonderful mentor to our daughter Megan this past year. She has offered Megan the opportunity to grow and develop within her major and has provided guidance on career exploration. During their trip to Las Vegas, Dr. Chen took a great interest in finding out about all of her students that were attending. When my daughter mentioned she had been looking for employment, Dr. Chen interviewed her for a position in her department. Megan has enjoyed working with Dr. Chen in CHES and has mentioned many times how Dr. Chen has given her advice for interviews, job hunting, etc. It is nice to know that she takes an interest in her students outside the classroom.”

It is evident that the students with whom Dr. Chen works benefit from her teaching and service. We congratulate Dr. Chen on receiving this well-deserved recognition.

Faculty member's study sheds light on Alabama hospitality industry

1/12/2018

How do people choose a place to vacation? Destination image and familiarity play a large role in that choice. Hospitality Management Program Director Kimberly Severt along with colleague, Jeeyeon (Jeannie) Hahm of the University of Central Florida, explored how Alabama is perceived and recently published an insightful article on the state’s destination image. The “Importance of destination marketing on image and familiarity” was published in the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights on January 9, 2018. Dr. Severt was also called upon by AL.com to comment in a December article “Boycott threats to positive press: How Alabama's Senate election swung state tourism.” The pair plans to continue to their research with a follow-up study about the impact of the election on Alabama’s image.

Dr. Kimberly Severt, Hospitality Management Program Director

2017 Yummy Hawaii Internship Opportunity

1/25/2017

Yummy Restaurant Group Summer Internship Restaurant Group Summer Internship in
Honolulu, Hawaii

2016 internship recipient, Kristina Osborn

Dining Room overlooking Honolulu

What an excellent opportunity to work a 4 week internship in Hawaii with airfare, lodging, and 2 meals per day paid for by Yummy Restaurant Group! Interns will work 5 days a week with 2 days off to explore the island. As part of this internship, you will rotate between different restaurant operations getting a broad understanding of how a multiple concept restaurant company is managed and operated.

Four interns will be selected for this prestigious opportunity. This internship is only open to Restaurant, Hotel, Meetings Management (RHM) students.

You can pick up an application at 420 Russell Hall.
Application Deadline is March 31st

For more information e-mail kssevert@ches.ua.edu

To see a video from last year's internship visit our Vimeo page!

The Shila Bowron Leadership Lecture Series

11/15/2016

Paul van Leeuwen

The Hospitality Leadership Series of the Restaurant, Hotel, and Meetings Management Program at The University of Alabama began in 2002 in an effort to achieve the goal of exposing students to a variety of hospitality leaders and their perspectives of the hospitality industry. In 2010, Mr. William A. Bowron, Jr., President, Red Diamond, Inc. Birmingham, Alabama, made a generous gift to the Restaurant, Hotel and Meetings Management Program to rename the Hospitality Leadership Series, the Shila Bowron/Red Diamond Leadership Series in honor of his mother.

The Restaurant, Hotel, and Meetings Management Program at The University of Alabama was established in 1985 as part of the Department of Human Nutrition and Hospitality Management, in the College of Human Environmental Sciences. More than 600 students have graduated from the program and are employed in a variety of hospitality management positions throughout the United States. There are over 400 students currently enrolled in the program.

This semester's speaker for the Shila Bowron/Red Diamond Leadership Lecture was Mr. Paul van Leeuween. Mr. van Leeuwen is a senior hospitality executive with over 30 years of experience. He spent close to 20 years with the Walt Disney Company leading Business Planning and Development teams throughout the world. As an executive and former vice president at the Walt Disney Company, Mr van Leeuwen was instrumental in seeing Walt Disney World Paris from conception through construction to opening. More recently he has led a private equity fund and served as President for a $100 million integrated hospitality company.

He shared the challenges he faced and the experience he gained from his time at the Walt Disney Company with our RHM students during the course of two lectures on Thursday, November 10, 2016. The RHM faculty hosted a dinner for Mr. van Leeuwen and his family at a local restaurant owned by an alumnus of the RHM program. Lunch the following day was enjoyed at The University Club, which is managed by the College of Human Environmental Sciences' Department of Human Nutrition and Hospitality Manageme