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| Participant
Patti Richardson received training
in hotel operations. |
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Who
would expect that someone originally
hired to be a mess hall dishwasher on
an Army installation would end up applying
to be that installation's lodging manager?
That's what's happening in the case
of Heather Carpenter of Ft. Hunter Liggett,
an Army lodging hotel in Monterey, Calif.
Carpenter has attended five classes
of Penn State's Army Lodging training,
created and led collaboratively by Management
Development Programs and Services and
the School of Hospitality Management
to address the Army Lodging brand's
need for professionalism and education
of their managers and high-potential
employees.
"I'm so excited about what I've
learned," said Carpenter. "I've
been able to impact others with the
information and tools that I've brought
back."
The Army has just renewed its five-year
contract with Penn State to provide
the 12 one-week classes covering all
hotel operations--from forecasting and
budget to customer service and effective
leadership.
In an effort to create consistency at
Army hotels worldwide--whose guests
are Army business travelers, active
duty military and retirees, plus their
families--the Army sought to create
an Army Lodging brand akin to midrange,
extended-stay hotels. After a competitive
bidding process five years ago, it hired
Penn State to help employees realize
that brand.
"It's been a change for the better,"
said Ruth Ann Jackson, director of the
Center for Hospitality, Recreation and
Tourism Outreach and Research. "The
Army is moving toward the private sector
in terms of how they operate their hotels,
and [Penn State] is a vehicle that keeps
them up-to-date in industry trends.
Now employees are viewing themselves
as professional management."
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Penn
State's World Campus is one of 29 colleges
and universities offering nearly 2,000
courses and 147 academic degree programs
to enlisted soldiers worldwide through
eArmyU, the U.S. Army's online University
program.
Three new Penn State programs have recently
been added to eArmyU's offerings: associate
degrees in hotel, restaurant and institutional
management, and letters, arts and sciences,
and a bachelor's degree in letters,
arts and sciences. That's in addition
to the master of education in adult
education program.
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Nonprofit
organizations often need help
prioritizing their kitchens. |
Restaurant
owners are well aware of protocol they
should follow to ensure ongoing food
safety. But many nonprofit organizations
sometimes lack the tools and knowledge
to keep up a restaurant-like atmosphere
when serving meals, even after receiving
training.
Dr. John Byrnes, a Cooperative Extension
educator in Philadelphia County, explained
that in Philadelphia, where food safety
training is required for nonprofit organizations
like churches, observational tools such
as follow-up visits were nonexistent.
That prompted Byrnes and Extension Program
Evaluation Specialist Nancy Ellen Kiernan
to develop their own observation tool,
which they have incorporated into food
safety training in Philadelphia.
"We visit people six weeks after
they pass the certification exam,"
said Byrnes. "It extends the teaching
from the classroom."
Byrnes cites one large church in Philadelphia
that offers a noontime hot meal, serving
200 people. "Our visit motivated
them to change the way they were storing
and serving their food--it helped them
move in a more professional direction,"
said Byrnes.
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