Bjorn Hanson—Renowned Hospitality and Travel Industry Researcher and Senior Executive—Appointed New Head of NYU-SCPS Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management

NEW YORK -- Dean Robert Lapiner of the New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies (NYU-SCPS) has announced the appointment of Bjorn Hanson as the new divisional dean of the School’s Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management, beginning with the fall 2010 academic semester.

A hospitality and travel industry researcher widely respected for his forecasts and for having created econometric models that transformed business analysis in the field, Hanson joined the Center in 2008, where he is now a clinical professor teaching in the graduate and undergraduate hospitality and tourism programs and directing applied research projects. Well-known for his scholarship, he has an international following for his periodic “Trend Reports” on key lodging industry indicators.

Before becoming a member of the full-time NYU-SCPS faculty, Hanson was Global Industry Leader, Hospitality & Leisure, for the worldwide professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for nearly 20 years.

Hanson has a long association with NYU, where he earned a Ph.D. While at PwC, he served as chair of the Tisch Center’s Advisory Board of distinguished industry leaders and shared his expertise in the classroom as a guest lecturer and adjunct faculty member. And for more than a decade, he has moderated the highly regarded economists’ roundtable panel at the annual NYU International Hospitality Industry Conference.

“Because of his background, in-depth understanding of the fields of hospitality, tourism, and sports business, and his strong connection with the Tisch Center, Bjorn Hanson will be uniquely able to work with the faculty, staff, and Advisory Board to bring the Center to new levels of distinction,” said Dean Lapiner. “Professor Hanson has a compelling and articulate vision for the Center, and more important, a track record that demonstrates his ability to inspire confidence and realize the ambitious, shared aspirations for its future.”

Lapiner added, “This is a wonderful outcome to an extensive international search process that identified very strong candidates for the position. I am deeply grateful for the dedicated work of the Search Committee. My special thanks go to Peter Warren (chair, Tisch Center Advisory Board) and Jim Stuckey (divisional dean, NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate) for their superb service as co-chairs of the Search Committee, and of course, to the incomparable Jonathan Tisch (CEO, Loews Hotels) for his insightful and invaluable participation as executive chair.”

“I am incredibly honored and humbled to be asked to serve as the next divisional dean of the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management," said Bjorn Hanson.

“When I joined the Tisch Center faculty, my intent was to be a teacher and mentor to our outstanding students and to be a colleague of our extraordinary faculty and administrative professionals. I am grateful for the opportunity to do so in this expanded role and to be part of the organization that will build on the truly remarkable accomplishments of Lalia Rach, dean of the Tisch Center for the past 15 years,” he added.

Hanson’s appointment comes at an exciting time for the Tisch Center. A nearly 120,000 square foot building on the NYU campus is being entirely redesigned and reconstructed to provide a new home for NYU-SCPS by summer 2011. Within that facility, the Tisch Center will at last enjoy a comprehensive environment with offices for faculty and staff, student lounges, dedicated classrooms (including a small conference center), and easy access to a range of schoolwide services. Of equal importance during the coming year, the School and Center are committed to implement plans to enhance career development support for students and alumni, foster collaborative research projects across the University and with industry, and expand the Center’s capacity for the bold curricular innovation for which it is known.

More about the Tisch Center at NYU-SCPS
Established in 1992, the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management has earned a global reputation as one of the world’s leading academic hubs for undergraduate and graduate professional studies, applied research, and continuing and executive education programs for the hospitality, tourism, and sports business fields. It bears with pride the name of an industry giant and New York University benefactor, Preston Robert Tisch, former CEO of Loews Hotels and owner of the New York Giants. The Tisch Center achieved its present standing and scope under the leadership of Lalia Rach, who will be stepping down after an exceptionally successful and inventive 15-year tenure as divisional dean, to return to teaching, conducting research, and mentoring students as a member of the Center’s full-time faculty.

Within NYU-SCPS, the Tisch Center offers two bachelor’s degrees (B.S. programs in Hotel and Tourism Management and Sports Management) and three master’s degrees (M.S. programs in Hospitality Industry Studies, Sports Business, and Tourism Management), and also offers three graduate-level certificates (in Hospitality Industry Studies, Sports Business, and Tourism Management). Taught by 12 full-time clinical faculty members as well as more than 80 dedicated adjuncts--all of whom are leading practitioners in their respective industries--these programs enroll more than 500 undergraduate and graduate students, from across the United States and abroad, and claim 1,600-plus alumni working around the globe. The Tisch Center is also known for organizing each June in New York City, the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, considered the premier hospitality finance and development forum of its kind. Annual attendance has grown to nearly 2,000 industry leaders—among them CEOs and leading finance and real estate executives.

More about Bjorn Hanson
A hospitality industry researcher, consultant, and scholar by profession, Hanson holds a Ph.D. from New York University, an M.B.A. from Fordham University, and a bachelor's degree from Cornell University.

Hanson began his tenure at Coopers & Lybrand LLP, the forebear to PwC, in 1990. He founded the firm's hospitality, sports, convention, and leisure practice and held various positions at PwC, including: National Industry Chairman for the Hospitality Industries, National Service Line Director for Hospitality Consulting, National Industry Chairman for Real Estate, Real Estate Service Line Director, and National Director of Appraisal Services. Additionally, he served on the firm's leadership committee and financial advisory services management committee. Hanson was also managing director with two Wall Street firms where he led banking and research departments for lodging and gaming.

He has co-chaired a committee of the American Hotel & Lodging Association and was president of the Cornell Club of New York. He was honored in 2008 with the Lodging Hospitality Stephen W. Brener Silver Plate Award, is a past Cornell University “Hotelie of the Year,” a Conti Distinguished Professor at Penn State University, and holds CRE and CFE professional designations.

As scholar and trusted industry expert, Hanson has been quoted in almost every major business periodical and professional journal, including Time, Newsweek, Forbes, Fortune, US News & World Report, Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal (US, European, and Asian editions), Barron's, and The New York Times. He has appeared numerous times on CNN, CNBC, FOX, WCBS, PBS, the Today Show, and other media outlets. Hanson has published chapters in all four editions of HOTEL INVESTMENTS and has been named one of the “25 Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry” by Meeting News, one of 75 industry leaders in Lodging magazine’s “Profiles in Leadership,” and as “One of the 33 Most Influential People in the Travel Industry” by Travel Weekly.

About the NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies
Established in 1934, NYU-SCPS () is one of NYU’s several degree-granting schools and colleges, each with a unique academic profile. The reputation of NYU-SCPS arises from its place as the NYU home for study and applied research related to key knowledge-based industries where the New York region leads globally. This is manifest in the School’s diverse graduate, undergraduate, and continuing education programs in fields such as Real Estate and Construction Management; Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management; Global Affairs; Philanthropy and Fundraising; Graphic Communications Media, Publishing, and Digital Arts; Human Capital Management, Marketing, and Public Relations; with complementary strengths in the Liberal and Allied Arts, Translation and Interpreting, Management and Information Technology, and Finance and Taxation. More than 100 distinguished full-time faculty members collaborate with an exceptional cadre of practitioner/adjunct faculty and lecturers to create vibrant professional and academic networks that attract some 4,200 degree-seeking students from every corner of the region and the world. In addition, the School fulfills the recurrent continuing higher education needs of local and professional communities, as evidenced by 55,000 annual enrollments in individual courses, specialized certificate programs, conferences, workshops, seminars, and public events.