Posted on: May 30, 2017

Summer is on the way and HRSM recently celebrated the graduation of the Class of 2017. As our newest alumni begin their careers, I’m filled with pride for our college and the legacy that we're building together through education, research and industry partnerships.

HRSM had an exciting spring semester! In February we hosted the 10^th anniversary of the Alumni Society Career Night, where more than 300 HRSM students practiced their networking skills with alumni. Also, the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management hosted a fantastic career fair that connected 45 companies and 500 students. In March we hosted HRSM Week 2017, including: Target Day, Fashion Week and the Sport Entertainment & Venues Tomorrow (SEVT) Conference. The College Sport Research Institute (CSRI) conference in April was also a great success and brought together some of the biggest names in college sport research and leadership. 

In addition to all of this, our students traveled the world, planned and hosted a free wedding for a lucky couple, gained hands-on experience at PGA golf tournaments and The Kentucky Derby, presented their research at USC Discovery Day and so much more. These are just a fraction of the great things our college did this past semester, and it’s what makes HRSM one of a kind.

We've also been making good progress on important efforts to grow and strengthen the college.

• We have several national searches underway for leadership positions such as Director of our new Center for Corporate Engagement and Chair of our Retailing Department. These searches are rigorous processes, so virtually all faculty and staff have been serving or participating in these searches to ensure we find the very best candidates and maintain collective ownership of our college's future. We look forward to introducingnew HRSM team members later this year, and are happy to announce the following new position appointments for searches that recently concluded:
  • Dr. Drew Martin will start July 1 as Director of HRSM’s School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management
  • Dr. David Cardenas will start Aug. 1 in his new role as Associate Dean of Academic Programs
  • Dr. Marianne Bickle will start July 1 in her new role as Director of BAIS and Online Education
• HRSM is on track to move to its new location, USC’s Close-Hipp Building, in summer 2019. The eight-story building provides a central campus location and ample space for our growing college.
• The college is strengthening its global partnerships to support international education and collaboration. These efforts will create new opportunities for impactful industry research and enrich curriculum both in South Carolina and abroad.

HRSM is fortunate to have an amazing community of leaders, innovators and life-long learners. Thank you for helping us continue to strengthen that community with your passion, mentorship and feedback. Please don’t hesitate to reach out anytime - whether that’s on campus or online - and I hope you have a wonderful summer.

Haemoon