News and Press Releases
Bjorn Hanson Named Conti Professor at Penn State
Dr. Bjorn Hanson, global hospitality industry partner for PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York City, has accepted the appointment as the next Walter J. Conti Professor of Hospitality Management in Penn State's College of Health and Human Development starting fall semester 2006.
Walter J. Conti, for whom the professorship is named, is a well-known restaurateur and industry leader from Doylestown, Pennsylvania. He is the retired owner and chief executive officer of Conti's Cross Keys Inn and Conti's Pipersville Inn, both located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Conti has held various leadership positions in the National Restaurant Association, including a term as chairman (1981-82), and he is a “Diplomate” of the association's educational foundation.
Well known for his consulting and econometric and statistical research, Dr. Hanson joins a distinguished group of Conti professors at Penn State 's School of Hospitality Management . “Conti professors are selected from among the greatest innovators and leaders in the hospitality industry,” said Bert Van Hoof, director of the School of Hospitality Management . “We are honored that Dr. Hanson has accepted this appointment. The faculty, staff and students of the School of Hospitality Management look forward to welcoming him to campus.”
Conti professors supplement Penn State 's School of Hospitality Management faculty with industry knowledge and expertise, serve as advisors to the director of the School, and interact with students in educational forums. They visit the School on a regular basis to present guest lectures in hospitality management and to speak at graduate and undergraduate colloquia.
Dr. Hanson is an author and frequent speaker who has been quoted in almost every major business periodical and industry journal including: Financial Times, Time, Newsweek, Forbes, Fortune, U.S. News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, and The New York Times and has made numerous appearances on CBS, NBC, CNN, CNNfn, CNBC, FOXfn, WCBS, PBS and other television and radio systems. He has served as international president of the Cornell Society of Hotelmen and was the Cornell Hotelier of the Year in 1994. He is the chair of the executive board for New York University 's Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management and The Cornell Center for Hospitality Research Advisory Board.
Dr. Hanson holds a bachelor's degree from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, an M.B.A. from Fordham University , and a Ph.D. from New York University . He holds Certified Real Estate Counselor (CRE), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and Food Service Consultants International (FSCI) professional designations.
Editors: For additional information, please contact Vivienne J. Wildes, instructor in the School of Hospitality Management, at (814) 863-0248 or vjw100@psu.edu; or Abby Diehl, interim director of college relations for the Penn State College of Health and Human Development, at (814) 863-2207 or abbyd@psu.edu .