For close to 100 years, the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration has provided the most relevant, groundbreaking hospitality business education in the world.
As the first and best hospitality school in the United States, we have spent the past century defining hospitality and the leaders who shape it. From teaching to research to industry connections, we are the authority in everything hospitality—from hallowed traditions to cutting-edge innovation—and we are a community of creative, dynamic professionals united by our love of hospitality.
“Students come to the Nolan School to take part in a deeply rewarding and truly remarkable educational experience. They graduate ready to rise as leaders in their enterprises, industries, and local and global communities.”
— Kate Walsh, Dimond Family Dean of the Nolan School
At the Nolan School, our students live and breathe hospitality. They graduate with a strong business acumen that is founded on a robust real estate curriculum. Collectively, our alumni are passionate and influential leaders of the industry.
The Nolan School is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the organization that sets the standard for business education. Less than 6 percent of business schools worldwide have achieved AACSB accreditation.
As a founding member of AACSB, Cornell University has a long tradition of providing quality academics, retaining distinguished faculty, and delivering strong career outcomes.
Kate Walsh, Dimond Family Dean of the Nolan School, herself a proud Hotelie, leads a diverse team of talented professionals to curate the best educational experience. Dean Walsh’s team is counseled by an advisory board of hospitality leaders and innovators from around the world—many of whom are proud Hotelies themselves.
Our impact on the hospitality management industry began in 1922. First sparked by the demands of hotel magnates and the American Hotel Association, and later funded by the hotelier Ellsworth Statler, our history makes us the first and best school for studying the business of hospitality.
Our early combination of classroom learning with hands-on experience is still the backbone of today’s Nolan School experience, and it has evolved to comprise everything from food and beverage to finance and data analytics.
We welcome and embrace diversity of all kinds, and foster an environment that provides a supportive, inspiring, and mentor-guided career path for each individual. From the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to our diversity lecture series and affinity-group roundtables, we build our approach to diversity on the pillars of inclusion, engagement, and community.
Purposely designed to encourage experiential learning and collaboration, the Nolan School campus boasts sophisticated design and function with a welcoming ambiance. Set like a gem against Ithaca’s lush green backdrop, the Statler Hotel is a full-service luxury hotel that offers lodging and entertainment to thousands of visitors while providing crucial practical experience to Nolan School students.
The Cornell SC Johnson College of Business combines the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration, the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. Each school adheres to the college’s mission and values. Under these guiding principles, our students benefit from the college’s comprehensive business capabilities as well as each school’s specialized industry depth, expertise, and successful alumni networks