Faculty & Research
David J. Kennedy, Ph.D
Dr. David J. Kennedy is an associate professor (research-only) in the Faculty of Health Sciences at The University of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. He is also a Director of The Atlantic Philanthropies (Australia) Pty. Ltd. He received a BA (Magna Cum Laude) from Assumption College, a MS and a MBA from the University of Massachusetts, and a MPS and a PhD from Cornell University. As a consultant to the hospitality and senior living industries, Dr. Kennedy has worked for a number of organizations including Hyatt Hotels, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Stouffer Hotels, Sonesta Hotels, Princess Hotels, Living Choice Australia, Waterbrook Lifestyle Resorts, LandCom, the Government of New South Wales, and the Retirement Village Association of Australia.
His research interests include senior living, the health and safety of precarious workers, and intra-organizational relocation. As 1st Chief Investigator, he led the research team that recently completed an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant valued at AU$800,000 that investigated exercise training in Australian retirement villages. He is currently the 1st Chief Investigator on a second ARC Linkage Grant valued at AU$1.5M that is conducting a triple-bottom line investigation of independent senior living alternatives in Australia. His research has been published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, the Gerontologist, the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, and the Journal of Public Health. In 2000, and again in 2006, he received the Best Paper Award - Human Resources, at the International CHRIE Conference. In 1999 he received the Academic of the Year Award from the Griffith University Gold Coast Student Guild Association. He is the current President of the Australia/New Zealand Chapter of the Cornell Hotel Society.