The Induction Ceremony,聽hosted by faculty advisers Dr. Kevin Murphy and Dr. Po-Ju Chen, as well as chapter president Natalie Sixto, and chapter vice president Bethany Chester, was highlighted by keynote speaker Rick Spencer, creative manager & show development for Universal Orlando Resort.

As members of Eta Sigma Delta, students distinguish themselves in the eyes of educators, recruiters and industry executives. In addition, the honor society provides a networking system that allows for interaction and the exchange of information among students.

Members of the prestigious honor society also gain access to special functions at annual trade shows.

To be invited into Eta Sigma Delta, students must be a Hospitality Management major or studying a related field, with a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative grade point average.

For more information on Eta Sigma Delta and the benefits of the organization, please visit聽www.chrie.org.

Students worked together in teams of four to prepare and serve an appetizer, entr茅e, and dessert to a panel of judges, who graded each team鈥檚 meal based on five categories, including presentation; portion size & nutritional balance; menu & ingredient compatibility; creativity; and taste, flavor, texture & doneness.

鈥淭he exciting part of these practicums for both instructors and students is to realize how far they have come in just a semester,鈥� said Dr. Kevin Murphy, one of the seven faculty members teaching Techniques of Food Production this term. 鈥淢ost students could not cook or handle a knife at the beginning of the semester and now they can prepare restaurant-quality food.鈥�

Students dished out everything from apple walnut salad and pasta fazool to beef tenderloin and roasted red pepper & chicken pizza to chocolate covered lamingtons and rum raisin bread pudding.

鈥淎t the beginning of the semester, students are usually hesitant about taking the class because they have never really cooked before,鈥� said chef instructor Katherine Wilson. 鈥淏ut by the time the practicum rolls around, students are excited and proud to share what they have learned.鈥�

麻豆原创鈥檚 Rosen College hosted 18 lab practicums this semester, with each one crowning a winning team.

The lab practicum was initiated nearly 30 years ago by the college’s first-ever faculty member, the late Robert Ashley. Professor Ashley tragically passed away this semester at the age of 65.

On Nov. 17, the society held its largest ceremony in ESD history, inducting 138 new students.

Chapter President Jaclyn Carlisto-Harris, Vice Presidents Pamela Cutler and Aline Fenelon, and faculty advisors, Drs. Po-Ju Chen and Kevin Murphy presided. The evening鈥檚 keynote speaker was Vice President and Managing Director of the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, Mr. Paul Tang.

ESD members are committed to fostering the growth of knowledge and promoting the advancement of the hospitality and tourism industries. At the ceremony, inductees pledged to uphold the high standards of scholastic and professional achievements established by ESD.

For more information on Eta Sigma Delta鈥檚 founding council, ICHRIE, and the benefits of the organization, please visit www.chrie.org.

Drs. Po-Ju Chen, Robertico Croes and Kevin Murphy set the wheels in motion when they presented a paper at the University of Costa Rica鈥檚 International Symposium on Tourism, held Nov. 21-23, 2011. The work was entitled 鈥淎griculture and Tourism 鈥� A Slow Food Model to Promote Sustainable Local Agriculture Products to Help the Poor in Latin America through Tourism.鈥�

As a result of the paper, the Rosen College鈥檚 Dick Pope Institute for Tourism Studies has entered into a letter of intent with the University of Costa Rica’s (UCR’s) Tourism School to cooperate on a grant to fund a study.聽The research will focus on the promotion of sustainable local agriculture products to help the poor in Latin America through tourism.

UCR and 麻豆原创 have a university-wide agreement to exchange research, teaching and cooperation. Currently, Rosen College is assisting UCR with their graduate curriculum development. Drs. Chen, Croes and Murphy have met with the following UCR representatives to discuss the project: Director of UCR Pacific Campus, Dr. Susan Chen Mok; Director of the Tourism College, Jorge Bartels Villanueva; and Director of the Tourism Graduate Program, Oriester Abarca Hernandez.

According to the Slow Food USA website, 鈥淪low Food is an idea, a way of living and a way of eating. It is part of a global, grassroots movement with thousands of members in over 150 countries, which links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment.鈥澛� For more, please visit .

麻豆原创 researchers in the areas of hospitality management, economics, sociology and civil/environmental engineering connected and were encouraged to collaborate on new research initiatives.

The luncheon promoted faculty scholarship while ideas of mutual interest that could lead to the development of competitive research proposals were discussed.

Rosen College faculty in attendance included: Dr. Po-Ju Chen; Dr. Robertico Croes; Dr. Duncan Dickson; Mr. Ron Logan; Dr. Kevin Murphy; Dr. Kal Nusair; Dr. Fevzi Okumus; Dr. H.G. Parsa; Dr. Manuel Rivera; Dr. Cheyenne Ro; Dr. Paul Rompf; Dr. Dipendra Singh and Mr. Scott Smith.

In addition to Rosen College faculty, other researchers included: Dr. Sarah Barber, Anthropology Department; Dr. James Wright, Sociology Department; Dr. Dingbao Wang, Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering Department; Dr. David M. Nickerson, Statistics Department; Dr. Jose Maunez-Cuadra, Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies; Dr. Tom O鈥橬eal, ORC; Dr. Amit Joshi, Marketing Department; Dr. Patrick Bohlen, Biology Department.

The purpose of the ORC is to foster new research activities among 麻豆原创 faculty. For more, please . The DPI is dedicated to increasing the benefits of tourism through research, public awareness and education. For more information, please visit the or e-mail dpi@ucf.edu.

Membership to this prestigious society is by invitation only and students must be Hospitality Management majors with a 3.0 GPA standing while in their junior year.

The Rosen College ESD Honor Society is pleased to be the largest chapter within the organization. ESD faculty advisors include Dr. Kevin Murphy (the founder of the chapter) and Dr. Po-Ju Chen.