- BS - Washington and Lee University
- MS, PhD - University of Houston
- University Department Hospitality Management
- Location Plato Wilson 339
- Phone Number (336) 841-2977
- Email [email protected]
Dr. Ritter is currently an Assistant Professor in Hospitality Management, having joined the High Point University faculty in 2021. As the founding faculty member in Hospitality Management, Dr. Ritter has created a number of new courses, including Human Resources Management, Hospitality Management Operations, and The Global Hospitality Industry, which serves as the major’s Maymester course, taking students to Switzerland and Italy. She also serves as the faculty advisor for the hospitality management club, Future Hospitality Leaders, and as the Director of the Capstone Program for the Master’s in Communication and Business Leadership.
After completing a degree in biology, Dr. Marisa Ritter stumbled into the hospitality industry in Vail, Colorado, starting as a catering assistant at The Lodge at Vail. She quickly found her passion for catering and events, with a specialty in weddings and other milestone events. Positions with Rosewood Hotels and Resorts and The Ritz-Carlton followed in Dallas and back in Vail before she joined Culinaire International as the Director of Catering for a private event facility in Dallas. Her professional career included producing over 550 weddings and thousands of other events, everything from a birthday party for a former president, weddings for professional athletes, and even a wedding for a couple of dogs!
Facing a career transition, Dr. Ritter decided to live out a lifelong dream of furthering her education by pursuing a Master’s in Hospitality Management and then a PhD in Hospitality Administration at the Conrad N. Hilton School of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston. Her research marries her practical experience in the industry with the theoretical knowledge she has gained to help provide solutions to real-world problems the industry faces. Her current research delves into how guests planning milestone events, such as weddings, process risk in an industry that is intangible and a world that is increasingly uncertain.
In teaching the next generation of hospitality leaders at High Point University, Dr. Ritter helps her students find their path through the industry and hopefully conveys a fraction of the passion she has for the hospitality industry.