Faculty & Research
Sherwyn to Verma: A Handoff in Leadership
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Associate Professors Dave Sherwyn (at left) and Rohit Verma (at right) |
At the end of June, associate professor David Sherwyn concludes his three-year term as academic director of the Center for Hospitality Research (CHR), and associate professor Rohit Verma will become the new director. The record of growth and accomplishment during Professor Sherwyn’s tenure can be told both in numbers and in words, because he strengthened both the center’s partnership program and its research program. In numbers, during the past three years, the center more than doubled the number of corporate partners, from fourteen to thirty-three, including five new senior partners. In a reinvigorated roundtable program, the center hosted nineteen roundtables during Professor Sherwyn’s tenure, with a specific commitment to the industry through a new Cornell Hospitality Roundtable proceedings series. The center also stepped up the number of studies published in Cornell Hospitality Reports series, issuing fifty-four studies in three years. The favorable response from industry and academe was shown by the fact that the number of users registered to the center’s website more than doubled, to over 92,000.
The numbers tell only part of the story. A key aspect of Professor Sherwyn’s efforts was to connect industry and academe, as indicated by this comment from Carolyn D. Richmond, a partner with Fox Rothschild, LLP: “Professor Sherwyn has done a Herculean task in bridging the gap between academia and industry through his work with the center.” A related observation came from Barbara Talbott, formerly executive vice president of marketing at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts: “During Dave's time as Director, the Center continued to build momentum as a place for industry and faculty to exchange ideas.” Finally, Mark Lomanno, president of STR Global pointed to Professor Sherwyn’s clear focus on the industry in the context of academic research: “His insights and dedication helped evolve the CHR into a critical resource for the global hospitality industry.”
Sherwyn hands the center to Verma, who teaches executive, masters and undergraduate classes in service operations, product-service innovation, project management, and quality improvement methods. As executive director, Professor Verma will oversee CHR’s ambitious program of promoting and promulgating research for the hospitality and related service industries, with plans to make even greater use of new media.
“CHR has made tremendous strides in expanding its reach to share the most current research-based information with the hospitality industry,” said Verma. “I appreciate the efforts of outgoing academic director David Sherwyn, and I hope that we will continue to expand the scope of CHR’s research programs and industry events.” Verma added “CHR’s industry partners and friends are committed to promoting relevant and high-quality research. Along with the dedicated CHR staff, I am looking forward to working closely with our 50+ industry collaborators.”
In addition to the center’s existing research report series, the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, and industry roundtables, Professor Verma would like to initiate web-based presentations and podcasts by center researchers. “I envision direct contact between our researchers and the industry, as well as other researchers and students,” Verma explained. “Web 2.0 technologies and social media allow us to offer ‘webinars’ and other interactive events. The whole idea is to share as much research and information with the industry as possible.”