Richard D. Adie '75
General Manager, The Statler Hotel
Richard "Rick" Adie has served as general manager of The Statler Hotel at Cornell University since 2002. He oversees the operation of the 153-room hotel, which serves the Cornell community. The hotel is the market leader in occupancy and in the quality of service and facilities. The hotel complex comprises three dining facilities, extensive banquet rooms and the J. W. Marriott Executive Education Center, which includes a state-of-the-art, 90-seat amphitheatre. The hotel serves the School of Hotel Administration in many ways, from housing the 250 annual industry leaders who lecture at the School to serving as the "learning laboratory" for all undergraduates studying hotel operations. Two hundred students work part time in the hotel, gaining practical experience and also participating in the hotel's Statler Leadership Development Program.
After graduating from the School of Hotel Administration in 1975, Adie joined Hyatt Hotels. His early management assignments were in Chicago, Washington D.C, Hilton Head, South Carolina, and Los Angeles. He was appointed opening general manager at the age of 29 at Hyatt's second hotel in Houston. From there he opened the 450- room Hyatt Regency at the Denver Tech Center and the 800-room Hyatt Regency at San Francisco Airport. In early 1990 he became general manager of Hyatt's largest hotel, the 2,000-room Hyatt Regency Chicago. He later served as general manager of the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City. Among other honors, he was recognized as Hyatt's General Manager of the Year.
Throughout his career, Adie has shown a deep commitment to community service. In Kansas City, he chaired the annual "Kansas City Day" where on the opening day of Royals baseball, 1,700 volunteers sold a special edition of the Kansas City Star to benefit local children's charities. Nearly $1 million was raised during his tenure. Adie served as president of the Greater Kansas City Hotel Association and was later named Hotelier of the year by the same group. He also served as chairman of the Greater Kansas City Convention and Visitors Bureau, spearheading the civic effort to expand the city's convention center. In Ithaca, Adie is a member of the Strategic Tourism and Planning Board for the Tompkins County Legislature and also serves on the advisory board of the hospitality program at Tompkins Cortland Community College.
Adie and his wife, Mary, have two children.