Brand senior vice president for Ramada Worldwide to visit SU March 4

Brand senior vice president for Ramada Worldwide to visit SU March 4February 24, 2009Michele Barrettmibarret@syr.edu

Mark Young, brand senior vice president for Ramada Worldwide Inc., a global hospitality provider, will be the featured guest speaker of the Syracuse University Hotel and Lodging Organization on Wednesday, March 4. The presentation is free and open to the public, taking place from 5-6:30 p.m. in Room 214 of Slocum Hall. A question-and-answer session is included. Students will have a chance to meet Young prior to his formal presentation.

As brand leader, Young is responsible for setting strategic direction and managing financial and operating results for Ramada; leading the Ramada franchise advisory boards; and interfacing with franchise sales.

Young’s visit to SU is part of the Department of Hospitality Management‘s focus on helping students learn the intricacies of the industry through hands-on experiences and opportunities to interact with leaders in the field. Students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management can pursue three career path tracks in the major: a food and beverage management track, a lodging track, or an events and conference planning track.

The purpose of the newly created SU Hotel and Lodging Organization is to expose students to aspects of the hospitality lodging industry that they may not normally observe in their regular course offerings, as well as to help them explore career opportunities within the hospitality industry and assist them in self-development of their skills. The organization will help students facilitate broader connections with those in the local and national hospitality lodging industry.

Young has spent nearly 30 years in the hospitality industry. Prior to his current position, he served as Ramada’s senior vice president of operations, responsible for planning and implementing programs to assist franchisee performance and profitability. Before joining Ramada, Young served as senior vice president of hotel services for AmeriHost Inn and group vice president of hotel services for Cendant Hotel Group, where he was responsible for providing operations support to the company’s AmeriHost Inn, Super 8, Wingate Inn, Knights Inn and Villager brands.

Young received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the Boston College School of Management. He earned the prestigious Certified Hotel Administrator designation through the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Educational Institute in 1990.

Ramada Worldwide Inc. is a member of the Wyndham Worldwide Hotel Group, one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, with nearly 875 hotels in more than 35 countries.

For more information about Young’s presentation, contact the Department of Hospitality Management at (315) 443-2386.

About the College of Human Ecology at Syracuse University

The College of Human Ecology is dedicated to excellence in professional academic education and integrates Scholarship in Action as a philosophy and method in all of its degree programs. The college brings together a rich history of academic programs whose signatures of social responsibility and justice join new and evolving majors reflective of educating global citizens whose leadership can-and does-change the places and peoples where they live and work.

Previously known as the College of Human Services and Health Professions until it was renamed in 2007, the College of Human Ecology hosts seven departments with strong roots in SU history: Child and Family Studies; Health and Wellness; Hospitality Management; Marriage and Family Therapy; Nutrition Science and Dietetics; Sport Management; and the School of Social Work.