Broad College of Business Spartans are constantly striving to reach new heights with the confidence and passion to make a difference for the business world. This summer, Jeff Beck, associate professor in The School of Hospitality Business, was named International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education’s 73rd president.
“I will be representing The School of Hospitality Business and the Broad College in an international arena, which is my main excitement,” Beck said.
Formed in 1946, ICHRIE is a nonprofit professional association of more than 1,000 hospitality educators and a global bounty of resources. To achieve its mission, “to advance knowledge in hospitality and tourism,” it delivers the necessary tools for industry professionals, educators and administrators, and association staff to impact the hospitality and tourism industry.
ICHRIE hosts an annual conference that serves as a platform for research presentations and shared learning about trends from around the world. New presidential installments are also made annually. At the 2019 conference in New Orleans, Beck officially accepted his new role and shared his vision for the coming year as president.
“There are many initiatives to make ICHRIE more relevant for the hospitality industry that I am focused on, especially a partnership with the International Food Manufacturing Association, of which MSU HB alumnus John Flood is a key member,” Beck said. He plans to immediately pursue ICHRIE’s strategic focus on developing and rekindling crucial partnerships with industry associations.
Beck is also determined to improve diversity and inclusion within ICHRIE. “I have enacted a committee to focus on both diversity and especially the importance of women in leadership positions in the hospitality industry,” he said.
A celebration is on the horizon for ICHRIE that Beck is particularly looking forward to: the association’s 75th anniversary in 2021, an effort that he is spearheading. Beck also shared that once his presidency comes to an end next year, he will become the chair of the Past Presidents Council.
Beck has been an active member of ICHRIE for 20 years, serving as a research committee member and research track chair. Most recently, he served as the chair of the Scientific Paper Review Committee for eight years, leading to his election as ICHRIE’s vice president last year and his presidency this year.
He was also awarded ICHRIE’s Stevenson W. Fletcher Achievement Award in 2015 to recognize his “outstanding achievement in contributing innovative ideas, methods or programs that have advanced teaching, learning or practice in the field of hospitality and tourism education.”
Outside of ICHRIE, Beck has spent more than 30 years as a professor and gained more than 20 years of industry leadership experience. He has been at the Broad College since 2002 and has served as the interim associate director for The School of Hospitality Business since 2017.