Executive Path
Professional Development Program Celebrates 80th Anniversary
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The Professional Development Program (PDP), the flagship executive education program of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, will reach its 80th anniversary this summer, celebrating a history dedicated to providing premier learning opportunities for the global hospitality industry.
In 1948, Dean Emeritus Robert Beck '42 wrote, “Offering workshops and seminars to men and women of the hospitality industry is an area of activity through which we feel we are rendering an important service, the type of service Cornell should be rendering, and which we feel will continue to develop and expand in the future.”
PDP has continued to expand its offerings since its beginnings as a workshop program based in Ithaca, U.S.A. The program now encompasses a wide selection of focused three-day courses regularly offered in three continents with programs also in Brussels, Belgium and in Singapore, providing global industry professionals of all levels the opportunity to gain the Cornell experience.
The 80th anniversary heralds new educational opportunities at PDP, including a new certification series, The Advanced Certification in Hospitality Operations, and six new courses. Due to the popularity of our New York City site visit, which emphasizes experiential learning and hands-on industry research, PDP will also launch a Las Vegas site visit this year. During site visits, participants go to several major hotel and restaurant sites to learn about their unique operational models.
PDP Europe will also celebrate this year by running at a new location in Brussels – the Dolce La Hulpe Hotel, Resort and Conference Center. PDP participants attend from many countries, bringing a wealth of experience and perspective into classroom discussions,” says Tom Kline, Director of Executive Education at the school. “The open, collegiate atmosphere at the Center provides an ideal setting to actively exchange ideas, debate issues and achieve practical business solutions.”
Since its founding in 1922, the School of Hotel Administration has constantly evolved to provide educational services suiting the demands of an ever-globalizing industry. The Executive Education program was created in 1928 to address the needs of working hospitality professionals. With active faculty involvement in course development today, PDP will continue to change as the industry changes to help fill missing talent gaps.
For more information about upcoming PDP opportunities, click here.
The Professional Development Program is supported in part by a generous endowment from the Anheuser-Busch Foundation.