What educators think

Nation's Restaurant News, Jan, 1994 by Carolyn Walkup

Veteran restaurateurs and executives are not alone in turning to the National Restaurant Association for support. The association is playing an increasingly influential role in the education of the industry's next generation of leaders.

Educators from two- and four-year foodservice-hospitality programs point to the NRA Educational Foundation as a key source for textbooks, videos and other educational information.

"We use the textbooks and other materials that we just couldn't do on our own," said Stephen Barth, assistant professor at the University of Houston's Conrad Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management.

"I am very impressed with what they do," Barth added. "They work really hard and produce quality material."

A similar opinion is held by Christolpher Muller, Ph.D., assistant professor at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration in Itaca, N.Y. Even though Cornell is one of the largest hospitality schools in the country, it could not produce all of the curriculum support materials that the NRA's Educational Foundation does, Muller said.

Matthew Lonam, instructor in the University of Missouri's Hotel and Restaurant Management Program in Columbia, Mo., agreed, praising the NRA's educational materials for being up-to-date.

The relationship between the NRA and hospitality schools can be a symbiotic one as well. For example, professors from Bethune-Cookman's College Hospitality Management Program in Daytona Beach, Fla., have been involved in producing the NRA's diversity training video and in developing textbooks.

"I would say they are partners," said Bethune-Cookman's Ernest Boger. "We are real enthusiastic about the NRA."

The college also has had a booth at the NRA's annual trade show in Chicago for the past five years, which is helpful in recruiting students.

But several educators insist that the NRA's biggest achievement has been to raise the level of professionalism in the industry -- a factor has powerfully impacted hospitality education.

Ronald Cichy, director of the Michigan State University School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management in East Lansing, Mich., singled out the NRA's Salute to Excellence awards for top hospitality stduents.

Held in conjunction with the annual NRA trade show, the awards are particularly inspiring to students, Cichy said. In addition to recognizing the student leaders with a lavish awards banquet, the salute brings the students together with industry executions for a day.

"That is a wonderful program," said Terry Umbreit, director of the Washington State University Hotel and Restaurant Administration Program in Pullman, Wash. "It makes the students feel a little more a part of the industry and adds a great deal to their education."

Tony Marshall, dean of Florida International University's School of Hospitality Management in North Miami, called the Salute to Excellence "a tribute4 to the NRA that reflects its dedication to education."

Educators also cited the Educational Foundation's student scholarships -- which range from $500 to $4,000 -- as another excellent NRA vehicle for recognizing outstanding students.

Robert Garlough, chairman of the Grand Rapids Community College Hospitality Education Division in Grand Rapids, Mich., said many of the college's students have received scholarships.

Garlough also thinks highly of the Educational Foundation's certification program for Foodservice Management Professionals. He and other "FMPs" benefit seminars held especially for them, he said.

Educators particularly cited The Educational Foundation's ServSafe sanitation certification course as being one of its most valuable offerings.

"Sanitation is the most well-known of all of the professional courses. Food-borne illness is of such concern," noted Thomas Moore, president and chief executive officer of the California Culinary Academy, San Francisco.

"They are very involved in sanitation and have really pushed that program," added Chuck Hamburg, director of the Roosevelt University Manfred Steinfeld Program in Hospitality Management in Chicago.

Statistical information about annual restaurant operations, menu and customer trends that the NRA publishes in its monthly magazine, Restaurant USA, as well as in special reports has proved especially useful to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in its College of Hotel Administration, said John Stefanelli, Department of Food and Beverage chairman.

Attending the NRA trade show, a requirement of students enrolled in the Kendall College Hospitality Management program in Evanston, Ill., is an excellent learning tool, said Chris Letchinger, director of the business and professional studies division. Other educators echoed his sentiments about show attendance.

The NRA also has been instrumental is helping to develop another professional association, the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education. Douglas Adair, CHRIE executive vice president, credits the NRA with lending his organization much "support and assistance, from administration in the early going to financial support over the years."