Academics
HEC History
Now in its 83rd year, Hotel Ezra Cornell dates back to 1925, when Dean Howard Meek took a group of students to New York City to manage the Hotel Astor for a day. Upon returning to Ithaca, the students decided to hold the grand opening of “The Only Hotel for a Day.” The students planned and managed an extravagant formal dinner party for the pioneers of the hospitality industry, and thus, on May 7, 1926, in Risley Hall on Cornell’s campus, Hotel Ezra Cornell was born.
The second year of HEC was a turning point in the history of the school. The world’s leading hotelier, Ellsworth Milton Statler, was the guest of honor, attending just to find out whether the good rumors about Cornell’s hotel program were true. When the skeptic got up to speak at the formal dinner, the audience watched with silent apprehension. In two sentences, E.M. Statler breathed enduring life into the future of the Cornell Hotel School: “I’m converted. Meek can have any damn thing he wants.”
In years to come, HEC became more and more elaborate. The weekends began adopting themes. For example, HEC 60 was themed “Diamond Robbery” and took after a mystery theater. The whole weekend was centered on solving a fictitious diamond robbery, with each social event providing clues. By the end, particularly perceptive guests were able to solve the mystery! However, the themes ended with HEC 77, when the focus of the weekend shifted from socializing to learning.
Somewhere along the line—although no one knows exactly when—students coined the tag line “The Best Ever” to describe how their HEC would top previous years. While Hotel Ezra Cornell has seen some memorable years—from E.M. Statler’s presence at HEC 2 to the dedication of Statler Hall at HEC 25—the best is yet to come!