Hospitality Management

Array ( [0] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 94488 [post_author] => 62 [post_date] => 2021-05-26 13:01:55 [post_date_gmt] => 2021-05-26 17:01:55 [post_content] => [post_title] => Jenny Lukow [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => dr-jennifer-lukow [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2021-09-09 08:43:05 [post_modified_gmt] => 2021-09-09 12:43:05 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.highpoint.edu/?post_type=faculty-staff&p=94488 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => faculty-staff [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [1] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 94635 [post_author] => 62 [post_date] => 2021-05-27 14:20:58 [post_date_gmt] => 2021-05-27 18:20:58 [post_content] => Brianna Clark joined the faculty at High Point University (HPU) as an Assistant Professor of Event Management in the Fall of 2018. Dr. Clark is responsible for teaching core courses in the curriculum including introduction to event management, event planning and evaluation, diversity, event operations, event administration, and senior seminar. She is committed to making her classes engaging and memorable by providing students opportunities to partner with university and community industry partners. Through innovative and comprehensive projects, students in her classes are prepared to meet the demanding and constantly changing needs of the event industry. In addition to her classes, she enjoys being the faculty advisor for the event management program’s student government club, Planning on Point. This role has allowed her the opportunity to travel with students to important event industry gatherings. For example, in fall 2019 she traveled with a group of event management students to the International Festival and Events Association Convention in Williamsburg, VA, where students were able to engage with some of the largest festival organizers in the world. In May 2023, she plans to teach a Maymester course, Fairs and Festivals, to a group of students while they travel throughout London, Brussels, and Amsterdam. It is her desire to make every class and industry experience offered through the Event Management Program at High Point University memorable and meaningful, so students feel fulfilled and ready to reach their professional goals.   Prior to joining HPU, Dr. Clark served as an Assistant Professor of Sport and Recreation Management at Temple University from 2011-2015. During her time at Temple University, she taught one of the only event management classes offered at the institution, program and special event planning. Her experiences at Temple prepared her for her work within an event-focused curriculum and introduced her to some of the most influential people within the festival and event world today.   Dr. Clark obtained her Ph.D. in Parks, Recreation, Tourism Management from Clemson with a focus on community recreation, and a M.A., and B.S. in Sport Management from the University of Connecticut (UCONN). While obtaining her degrees she worked as a recreation/sport programmer and event planner for various nonprofits. In addition to teaching, she greatly enjoys participating in research dedicated to the pedagogy of event management, but most importantly examining marginalized people’s leisure experiences including the managerial experiences of marginalized people working in leisure, sport, and/or tourism industries. Her work has been published in top-tier leisure studies and sport management journals.   When not spending time with her students, Dr. Clark enjoys spending time with her amazing 3 daughters and husband, traveling, attending the neighborhood pool in the summer, playing golf, binge-watching popular TV series, and working in her yard. She finds great pleasure in participating in leisure and not just studying it! [post_title] => Dr. Brianna Clark [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => dr-brianna-clark [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2022-10-13 13:56:39 [post_modified_gmt] => 2022-10-13 17:56:39 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://www.highpoint.edu/?post_type=faculty-staff&p=94635 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => faculty-staff [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [2] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 97821 [post_author] => 53 [post_date] => 2021-06-03 16:16:17 [post_date_gmt] => 2021-06-03 20:16:17 [post_content] => Jessica Wiitala is an Assistant Professor of Event Management at High Point University and joined the faculty in August 2019. Dr. Wiitala currently teaches a number of courses in the event management program including introduction to event management and courses in finance, marketing, experience design, risk management, and legal issues in events. She also has taught a number of the elective courses in the program, including Meeting and Conference Planning which she plans to teach during a Maymester in 2024, to a group of students as they explore Germany, which is home to the largest convention spaces in the world. She enjoys exploring project-based learning techniques to allow students a theoretical and applied approach to thinking and learning.   She obtained her Ph.D. in Hospitality Management from the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. In addition, she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Hospitality and Event Management with a minor in Business Law from Lasell College and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from DeVry University's Keller Graduate School of Management.   Prior to entering academia, she worked in the lodging and event sectors of the hospitality industry for over a decade. Her industry experience encompasses country clubs, boutique hotels, conference hotels, full-service resort hotels, and corporate organizations planning mid- to large-scale conventions and events, primarily in the corporate and social event sectors. Her research line investigates strategic crisis communication and media effects of tourist’s risk perception and decision making. Based upon her experience in industry, her current research interests include guest/attendee experiences, experiential design, safety and security, marketing, and consumer behavior in the context of events and event management, tourism, and attractions. She intends to contribute to the field with both theoretical implications and practical applications.   Outside of the classroom, Dr. Wiitala enjoys spending time with her husband and their son and two American Bulldogs. They enjoy traveling, and love visiting Florida and going to the theme parks and beaches whenever they can. They also enjoy attending local festivals and events, going hiking, visiting the Piedmont Triad Farmers Market, trying new restaurants, attending concerts, watching sports and just relaxing at home and indulging in binge-worthy shows. 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