Ceridwyn King has been named the next Dimond Family Dean of the Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration in the S.C. Johnson College of Business effective July 1, the University announced Monday afternoon in the Cornell Chronicle.
King will succeed Dean Kate Walsh, the first female dean of the Nolan School, who has held the position since 2017.
King comes to Cornell from Purdue University’s White Lodging-J.W. Marriot, Jr. School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, where she serves as a professor and school head. She also serves as the associate dean for Indianapolis and strategic initiatives in Purdue’s College of Health and Human Sciences.
Her goals for the Nolan School include “enhanc[ing] [its] reputation as an interdisciplinary, inclusive and academically rigorous institution,” according to the Chronicle.
“Hospitality is, at its core, a human‑centric endeavor – how we serve, lead and create meaningful experiences – and that belief will guide our next chapter,” King told the Chronicle.
King is a “brilliant scholar” in hospitality brand management, Andrew Karolyi, the Charles Field Knight Dean of the S.C. Johnson College told the Chronicle; she holds a focus on the internal stakeholder’s role in creating competitive and sustainable service experiences. She served as the editor-in-chief of Services Marketing Quarterly, is an associate editor of Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research and is a co-ordinating editor of International Journal of Hospitality Management.
“As we continue to strengthen connections across disciplines and prepare students to lead in an increasingly complex global environment, I am confident that [King] will build on the strengths of the Nolan school while contributing to Cornell’s broader academic mission,” said Provost Kavita Bala to the Chronicle.
Before teaching at Purdue, King was a professor at Temple University’s School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management.
King also has an extensive background working in the hospitality and marketing industries. Prior to working in academia, King served as the head of marketing for The Star Gold Coast, formerly Conrad Jupiters Hotel and Casino, on the Gold Coast, Australia and was the founding director of Seed Strategic Marketing Solutions, according to her LinkedIn.
She received a bachelor’s degree in hotel management, master’s in marketing management and Ph.D. in marketing all from Griffith University in Queensland, Australia.
“By placing people at the center of innovation, scholarship and industry engagement, we will continue to advance hospitality and the disciplines that enable it, while preparing Hotelies to positively shape organizations and communities around the world,” King told the Chronicle.
Mary Caitlin Cronin is a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She is a senior writer for the News department and can be reached at mcronin@cornellsun.com.
