A plaque and photograph of Paul Wise, founder of the University of Delaware's Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management (HRIM) and ARAMARK Chair Emeritus of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management, was unveiled on Wednesday, March 22, in the boardroom of The Courtyard Newark-University of Delaware hotel.

The plaque reads: “The Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management Department at the University of Delaware gratefully acknowledges the many contributions made by its first Director, Paul E. Wise, including his vision of establishing a hotel as an integral component of the program.”

“We wanted to acknowledge Paul's contributions to establishing the hotel,” William Sullivan, hotel manager, said. “It was always his dream to have a hotel as a learning laboratory for students, and now his idea has become a reality. Paul was surprised and pleased when he saw the plaque and photograph.”

Paul Wise and his wife, Caroline
UD photo by Kathy F. Atkinson

Wise came to UD in 1988 as founding director and chairperson of HRIM after a career associated with the military, where he was responsible for 670 clubs and hotels and was inducted into the International Military Club Executive Association Hall of Fame.

Active in hospitality field organizations, Wise was a fellow of the Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Motel Association and received its Lamp of Knowledge Award for Outstanding Educator in 1992. He also was named to the Hall of Fame for Outstanding Individual Achievement in the 2000 Governor's Tourism Awards and was honored with 2003 Cornerstone Award by the Delaware Restaurant Association. When he retired from UD in 2000, the Paul Wise Executive-in-Residence Fund was established in his honor.

Wise graduated from Pennsylvania State University and was named its Hotel and Restaurant Society Alumnus of the Year. Wise received his master's degree in food marketing from Michigan State University.

Martin Mbugua
(302) 831-8749
University of Delaware