Nolan 100th Celebration

Dean Robert A. Beck ’42 discusses plans for the future of what is known today as the Center for Hospitality Research—the first of what would be six centers and institutes at the school.

The Statler Foundation endows the E.M. Statler Professorship of Hotel Administration—part of the organization’s $1.5 million gift. H.B. Meeks holds the first chair.

The Cornell School of Hotel Administration offers the first accredited wine appreciation course in American collegiate history. New York and California vintners visit campus to give lectures to juniors and seniors.

The Department of Hotel Administration becomes a separate school within the College of Home Economics. It separates from the college just four years later—leading to the appointment of Dean H. B. Meek in 1954.

The school receives $2.5 million from the Statler Foundation, a gift for the construction and furnishing of Statler Hall, including a 36-room inn. Alice Statler lays the cornerstone for the building on May 7, 1949.

The Department of Hotel Administration is established within the College of Home Economics or, as it is known today—the Cornell College of Human Ecology.

The Cornell Society of Hotelmen is established with John M. Crandall ’25 as its president. Seventy years later, the organization changes its name to the Cornell Hotel Society.

Lectures on Hotel Management is offered for the first time. The course—known today as the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series—features weekly Friday lectures by visiting industry experts. It is open to all students.

Hotel Ezra Cornell is held in Prudence Risley Hall on May 7, 1926, with Walter T. Bovard ’26 as manager. The event, proposed by Professor Jessie Boys as a “hotel for a day,” establishes an enduring Cornell tradition.

The Program in Hotel Management—part of the Cornell College of Agriculture—holds its first day of classes on September 20, 1922. H.B. Meek is the program’s sole professor, and about 20 students are enrolled.