Last May, Jen Lambert, a senior hospitality management major, was shocked and upset to find out her program would no longer be offered to incoming students.

‘It’s embarrassing to have to apply in a few years for jobs and have to say the program was cut,’ Lambert said. ‘It’s a good program, but because the program was cut, other people might not think that. It loses all credibility.’

She said she doesn’t regret coming to Syracuse University because of the friendships she made over the last three years, but she said she would tell freshmen and sophomores in the program to consider transferring.

The dean, faculty and staff of the College of Human Ecology announced in May the hospitality management program would no longer be offered to incoming students. After the announcement, many students said they were upset at the decision and the fact that they were not informed prior to May.

This freshman class will be the last group to complete the degree. Instead the program may be broken up into more concentrated versions of the degree, such as food studies and event management, said Michele Barrett, the communications manager for the College of Human Ecology, in an e-mail.

All current students will be able to complete their major or minor in the program with the same class curriculum. The staff will also remain the same, but will teach different courses relating to their fields in four years, Barrett said.

The program began in 1986, focusing on restaurants and food management. A few years ago, it incorporated lodging into the program. There are about 200 students in the program now, with an average incoming class of 30 students, Barrett said.

Dana Clark, a senior hospitality major, said the students have accepted that their program won’t be offered to incoming classes.

‘I feel we got the best deal we could in letting everyone finish their major,’ she said. ‘I feel we could protest until the end of the earth and get nothing. I just wish we knew the real reason because they danced around it.’

Some of the students said they would like to see the major get moved into the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, since running a hotel or restaurant is a business, rather than have the program no longer be offered.

They also said they didn’t like how they were told. Some said they thought it was unfair how the college held a meeting to tell them the program was no longer being offered and there wasn’t anything they could do. Students said they felt their questions were not fully answered.

Human Ecology officials could not be reached for comment, in response to student concerns of unanswered questions.

The timing of the announcement was also hard because it was around finals, a stressful time for students, said Marcella LaHara, a sophomore hospitality management major.

‘We had a meeting last spring with the dean, and I just ended up crying,’ LaHara said.

‘It’s very defeating, feeling that our hands are tied.’

Like other students in her program, LaHara is confused about why the program was cut.

‘It’s baffling because it’s a growing field,’ she said. ‘Other schools are catching onto the trend, and we’re getting rid of ours.’

She said she considered transferring to Cornell University when SU announced it would no longer offer her major, a major she has wanted to pursue since her sophomore year of high school.

But LaHara said she has decided to stay at SU because of her other commitments. She is an RA, she’s declared a minor and she’s the president of the Hospitality Management Association, a club on campus that brings in guest speakers, goes on trips to hotels and allows students to learn about hospitality, including event planning.

After a few years of trying to become a club, the association was officially recognized as a student group last year.

‘We all dedicated so much time to be recognized as a club, and when we finally got official status, our professors were so happy for us,’ she said. ‘The dean canceling our major was kind of a slap in the face that you worked really hard, but it’s not important.’

With the program no longer being offered, the club members are worried the club will not last past this freshman class.

‘It puts an expiration date on the club,’ said Lauren Wannermeyer, a junior hospitality management major.

The club is trying to get other students on campus outside of the hospitality management program to join the club, but Wannermyer said this could be difficult. She said it is rare for students to join professional clubs that aren’t connected to their major.

Wannermeyer declared her major when she was a sophomore after a friend told her about the program. She said she was upset other students coming to SU undecided and unaware of the major will not be able to transfer into the program like she did.

‘It makes me sad for future generations of Syracuse students,’ she said. ‘My experience at hospitality management was defining because learning that the program existed was an eye opener. I can see myself doing awesome with this after college.’

While a lot of students are upset about the program ending, most are concerned more for the freshmen. The incoming class will have to finish out the program alone and might not have the same course selection because there will be fewer people to fill the classes.

‘I feel bad for the freshmen who, in three years, will be taking classes with three people,’ said Matt Legault, a senior hospitality major, ‘but I guess that happens whenever they cut a program.’

krkoerti@syr.edu

 

Published on September 1, 2010 at 12:00 pm