Hang in There! Be Strong!

Hang in there, colleagues! It is the end of the semester for many of you and sure that you are inundated with students wanting special favors, extra credit, lowered standards, and all the rest that comes your way when they realize that their final grade is out of sync with the grade they think they deserved in there head. Amazingly, students are the one group of individuals who I think truly believe that you can get more out of your education than you put into it, which we know is far from the truth.

So, hang in there! You have established standards and policies and stay strong; do not make compromises to those who did not meet them! You are almost at the end of the semester so tough it out!

The End of of the University as We Know it?

An opinion piece was published in the NY Times today from Mark C. Taylor, the chairman of the religion department at Columbia, who is the author of the forthcoming “Field Notes From Elsewhere: Reflections on Dying and Living.” It is quite controversial commentary on graduate and undergraduate education issues so worth reading because this issue could get out of control if we are not careful to make sure we are doing right by students. The opinion can be read at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/opinion/27taylor.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&emc=eta1

As the debate rages, there have been counterpoints, such as:
http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2009/04/universities.html
http://chronicle.com/review/brainstorm/bousquet/more-drivel-from-the-new-york-times

If you have an opinion of your own on this NY times opinion piece please feel free to share by posting to this post.

Ethical Dilemma in an HR Class

I teach a junior level course in Human Resource Management in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management. One of the pillars of that course is ethics. We have had worksheet questions from the assigned text that are completed as homework and discussed in class. We have case visual case studies that the students watch concerning human resource ethics that they then analyze, discuss, and then hand in to be graded. We have had essay questions on two exams that pertained specifically to ethics. I have even pose ethical questions to students now and then that based on current events concerning the financial meltdown and its impact on the hospitalitya and tourism industry.

Here is the ethical dilemma, or lack thereof...

We are now watching and evaluating video case studies that are produced by student teams (about six students per team) pertaining to various chapters we have covered during the semester. I will provide details on this assignment in a future blog post. In effect, teams present their video case study before the class and the students grade their efforts using a rubric that I prepared and they approved before using. The grade for the team's presentation is based on the average score produced from all the evaluations. Yesterday, I discovered that while one of the teams was presenting its case to the class they had filled out their evaluations on their own presentation and given themselves all perfect scores with open-ended comments, like "Fantastic job!" In effect, they were trying to cheat the average score by giving themselves perfect scores. I now suspect that others have done the same thing!

Meanwhile, my TA came to me at the end of class with a grave concern. After we collected all the evaluation forms she found that one was completed and turned in for a student that was not in class that day!

This is quite unnerving to me. What does it say about the character of students who can pass assignments dedicated to defining and detecting unetchical behavior and then turn around and act unethically by cheating on assignments? I am not alone in my concerns given the recent editorials in the Wall Street Journal and Newsweek about B-Schools that should be partly to blame for the current financial mess for graduating students who may have taken a few classes on ethics but do not behave that way when in business.

I do not have any answers today. I have lots of questions about how a student can reconcile knowing the definition of ethics, able to analyze it by watching a case study, but then turn right around and cheat on assignments. I can guarantee you that these concerns will be addressed in class tomorrow. I fear it may not make any bit of a difference and that is not good for the future of our industry.

How to Teach Hybrid Courses

The term for courses taught partially online and traditionally is a hybrid course. If looking for some good solid information on teaching these kinds of courses there is a great wiki that has a great deal of information on hybrids. Just visit the following URL and peruse all the great information made available through the Institute for Teaching and Learning for the CSU Development Council down the left-hand column at: http://f2f-to-online.wikispaces.com/

Have a great weekend!

Universal Truth in Teaching

I am now sitting in my office grading an extra credit assignment I have in my HR class, which was a structured critique of Chef Ramsay’s good and bad behavior on Hell’s Kitchen and what should be done to manage someone like that if his/her manager by applying some of what was learned in the course. True to form, those that need the points the least are getting the max points on the assignment and those who really need the maximum points are not doing so well on the assignment (which was the case on all the assignments required in the course).

I am sharing this as a reflection on the assessment versus evaluation thread. I have now taught about 20 years and I have come to realize that there is one universal truth in teaching. The universal truth is that it does not matter the teaching method I have used (and I have used them all) or the way in which I come to know if students grasped the course materials (evaluate, assess, whatever); those who have an academic aptitude will achieve an A no matter the challenge and those who don’t will fall short no matter how hard they try. So the debates we sometimes have about the best way to enhance the quality of our teaching and student learning are – to me – often times pointless when I boil it down to the universal truth I have found to be true in all my years of teaching.

Mick

Images of the 21st Century

This is an excellent video to watch; it is well done with images and music, and in some respects downright scary as to what may lied ahead in the very near future as technology shapes our world. The implications for those of us teaching culinary arts and hospitality education are profound and worth serious debate as to how we will handle the changing face of humanity driven by technology.

It would be great to show at a faculty meeting and discuss how to adapt curriculum to meet the changes, show to students and talk about whether the predictions were realistic or not, and more. Enjoy the video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1KEFgD6Dtg

FELC Revises www.fooded.org

We are pleased with the work that our webmaster, Chris, has done to refresh the Foodservice Educators Learning Community (FELC) website. We wanted a site that had a bit more pizzazz but be easy to navigate and think Chris hit the target.

One of the key changes to note in the days ahead will be the center column of the site. It will be the place for us to update members and others about FELC updates and resources that may be beneficial to culinary arts and hospitality educators.

Please take the new site for a spin and give us your feedback.

Tips on Writing a Letter of Reference

Yes, it is that time of the year again when current/former students near and far start to contact teachers and request letters of reference. The letter of reference request usually has three components to it:

1. The actual request for a letter to help obtain a scholarship, internship, job, and so forth;
2. A resume that is to be used by the teacher to write the letter of reference, and;
3. The deadline of one to three days!

Like many of you, I am a strong advocate of providing letters for those who have proven themselves to be great students in class or did a great job as Teaching Assistant but the later it gets in the term/semester the more impossible it becomes drop everything, review a resume, and craft an individualized letter in the short time requested.

However, I have learned a way to oblige student requests for a letter of reference with a quick turnaround time. No, it is not a form letter and if doing that please stop. I simply request that students start the letter and address it to whomever it is to be sent and then write two paragraphs about themselves and their accomplishments they would like to be communicated to those reviewing it for the stated purpose. They are then to send the draft to me as a word attachment.

I then take their draft letter and add an introduction about myself, how I know the student, and then add a paragraph or two of my own about the qualities of the student that make them deserving of the prize they are seeking. I also revise the paragraphs they have written so that they no longer "walk on water!"

I then send the letter back to the student to read and approve before printing off on department letterhead, signing, and dropping it in the mail.

I hope this technique helps you write letters of reference in a quicker, more effective manner, too. If anyone else has tips on writing reference letters please send to Mick La Lopa for posting on a future blog if interested.

Must Read Books on Teaching, P II

As promised in yesterday's post, here are the remaining books on the list generated by Chism. If any of you read some of the books listed please send a book report to Mick La Lopa and we will post it on the website or in the blog, or both!

Hativa, N. (2001). Teaching for effective learning in higher education. New York: Springer.

Kalman, C. (2008). Successful science and engineering teaching: Theoretical and learning perspectives. New York: Springer.

Kalman, C. (2006). Successful science and engineering teaching in colleges and universities. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Leamnson, R. (1999). Thinking about teaching and learning: Developing habits of learning with first year college and university students. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Lowman, J. (1995). Mastering the techniques of teaching (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Lyons, R., McIntosh, M., & Kysilka, M. (2002). Teaching college in an age of accountability. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

McKeachie, W., & Svinicki, M. (2005). McKeachie’s Teaching tips: Strategies, research, and theory for college and university teachers. (12th ed.) Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Menges, R.J., & Weimer, M.G. (Eds.). (1996). Teaching on solid ground: Using scholarship to improve practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Milton, O., & Associates. (1994). On college teaching: A guide to contemporary practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Nilson, L. B. (2003). Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Pratt, D., & Associates. (1998). Five teaching perspectives on teaching in adult and higher education. Malabar, FL: Krieger.

Pritchard, K.W, & Sawyer, R.M. (Eds.) (1994). Handbook of college teaching: Theory and applications. Westport. CT: Greenwood Press.

Ramsden, P. (2003). Learning to teach in higher education (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.

Richlin, L. (2006). Blueprint for learning: Constructing college courses to facilitate, assess, and document learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Rotenberg, R. (2006). The art and craft of college teaching: A guide for new professors and graduate students. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.

Walvoord, B. E. F., & Anderson, V. J. (1998). Effective grading: A tool for learning and assessment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Weimer, M. (2002).Learner-centered teaching: Five key changes to practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2001). Understanding by design (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Zull, J. E. (2002). The art of changing the brain. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Must Read Books on Teaching, PI.

Nancy Chism, at IUPUI, compiled a list of great books based on a poll she did of POD members. The list that was generated is really the best of the best teaching books available for those wanting to improve the quality of their teaching. Although many of the books on the list are geared toward higher education the practices and principles contained in each one are applicable to almost any classroom. I would also like to add a few to the list that also sit on my bookshelf as a reference for imporoving one's teaching, including:


-Boyer, E. (1990). Scholarship reconsidered: Priorities for the professorate.
-Butler, K. (1986). Learning and teaching style: In theory and practice.
-Finkel, E. (2000). Teaching with your mouth shut.
-Fogarty, R. (1997). Problem-based learning & other curriculum models: Multiple intelligences classroom.
-Johnson, D., Johnson, R. & Smith, K (1991). Active learning: Cooperative learning in the classroom.
-Knowles, M. (1984). Andragogy in action: Applying modern principles of adult learning.
-Pascarelli, E. & Terenzini, P. (1991). How college affects students.
-Stigler, J. & Hiebert, J. (1999). The teaching gap: Best ideas from the world's teachers in improving education in the classroom.
-Wagner, T. (2002). Making the grade: Reinventing america's schools.

The first half of the list generated by Chism is as follows, the rest will be posted tomorrow:

Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Bean, J. (1996). Engaging ideas: The professor's guide to integrating writing, critical thinking, and active learning in the classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Biggs, J. (2003). Teaching for quality learning at university (2nd ed.). Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.

Boice, R. (2000). Advice for new faculty member. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Boice, R. (1998). First-Order principles for college teachers. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing.

Brookfield, S. (1995). Becoming a critically reflective teacher. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Brookfield, S.D. (1990). The skillful teacher. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Cooper, J. L., Robinson, P., & Ball, D. (Eds.). (2003). Small group instruction in higher education: Lessons from the past, visions of the future. Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press.

Davis, B.G. (1993). Tools for teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Feldman, K., & Paulsen, M. (Eds.) (1998). Teaching and learning in the college classroom. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Fink, D. (2003). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Forsyth, D. R. (2002). The professor's guide to teaching: Psychological principles and practices. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Fry, H., Ketteridge, S. & Marshall, S. (Eds.). (2003). A handbook for teaching and learning in higher education, (2nd ed.). London: Kogan..

Gardiner, L. F. (1994). Redesigning higher education: Producing dramatic gains in student learning. Washington, DC: ASHE Higher Education Report.

Summer Read -- The Story of In-N-Out Burger

Any In-N-Out Burger fans out there? If so, you can satisfy your craving to learn more about the company in a new book from BusinessWeek writer Stacy Perman who brings the secretive company to light with In-N-Out Burger: A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules.

You can read an excerpt from the book and watch an interview with the author by visiting:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_16/b4127068288029.htm

FELC Welcomes 80th Member

We are very pleased to announce that FELC reached its 80th member today. Richard Erskine, CEC, is a culinary instructor at Southeast Culinary College in Bristol, VA. Richard is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University with a Associate of Science in Culinary Arts and a Bachelors degree in Food Service Management. He has over 26 Years Experience in the industry and 8 years as Director of a Culinary Arts School. Here are some of his many accomplishments:
* Co-Author of a text book for the Personal Chef Industry
* State Chef of the Year
* Caterer of the Year for the State of South Carolina
* Certified Executive Chef- by the American Culinary Federation
* Accreditation Team member for the American Culinary Federation
* National ACF Presidential Medallion Winner

Welcome to our learning community!

Ban the Buffet!

I have heard yet another bad answer in response to the question I pose every time I attend a function that has some sort of buffet. The question is, "What will be done with the food after the event is over?" The typical response is, "We will throw it away." Well, I got that response at a function I attended Monday night and I wanted to SCREAM! I want to scream in response to the "throw it away" answer due to the amount of life (animals), water, energy, money, labor and other resources that were totally wasted to produce food destined for the dumpster!

As it turns out Americans waste a tremendous amount of food every year. According to a recent NY Times article, "Americans waste...an estimated 27 percent of the food available for consumption,...and it happens at the supermarket, in restaurants and cafeterias and in your very own kitchen. It works out to about a pound of food every day for every American." Do the math; that is an incredible amount of food waste.

The time has come to do our part and teach students to set up buffets that have virtually no waste or perhaps eliminate the buffet altogether and encourage them to have servers "pass around the buffet" on a tray and only bring out what the customer actually consumes instead of relying on the same old tired rule of thumb formulas for how "many pieces" or "small plates" should be planned when doing buffets in the event all people were to consume as planned -- which rarely if ever happens. Besides, what is wrong with running out of food? If someone was too lazy to get up their fat _____ up to the buffet or came late to the event and missed out well then they had better be on their toes the next time and get in line if they want to indulge.

So I am appealing to all of you who teach culinary arts and hospitality to rethink what we teach kids about foodservice as it relates to the buffet. We have to STOP WASTING FOOD! So please join me and put an end to this practice altogether or properly manage it too eliminate waste.

Oh, there is one more buffet pet peeve. I was just at one of those name brand celebrity chef restaurants located in a museum in Indy. I will not mention his name but it is the name for the thing hockey players try to hit into the net. Anyway...the staff working for the celebrity chef (who was apparently nowhere on site to manage set-up) set up the buffet with a single service side so it took forever for people to get their lunch while waiting for those ahead to gingerly get their food as though defusing a bomb for goodness sake! Hello! Get an extra pair of tongs for each item on the buffet and run customers down both sides of the table. Aaaaaggghhh!

(Full NY Times piece, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/weekinreview/18martin.html?partner=rssnyt)

Blog for Culinary Arts & Hospitality Administrators

A collection of educators runs a Education Policy Blog about the ways that educational foundations can inform educational policy and practice! The blog is written by a group of people who are interested in the state of education today, and who bring to this interest a set of perspectives and tools developed in the disciplines known as the 'foundations' of education: philosophy, history, curriculum theory, sociology, economics, and psychology. Check it out by visiting: http://educationpolicyblog.blogspot.com/

Happy Easter!

To those who read the blog and/or members of the Foodservice Educators Learning Community (FELC) we want to wish you a Happy Easter or Passover!

Sincerely,
Jami Yanoski, Michael Carmel, and Mick La Lopa

Chronicle of Higher Ed News and Blog

I ran across a news source for the Chronicle of Higher Education. Although it does not necessarily speak to secondary and post-secondary educators in culinarts arts or hospitality it does provide some interesting information about issues on teaching and learning common to any educator. So check it out once in awhile and you will catch some interesting articles on education. The news feed can can be found at: http://chronicle.com/news/. If interested in the blogs, please visit: http://chronicle.com/blogs/

Of course, in addition to the News and Blog there are lots of additional resources germane to eduacators listed dow the left-hand column that are free or for sale that may be of interest. I especially liked the multia media page that can be found by clicking on that option down the left-hand side of column as it had Power Points, Podcasts, and other sources for educators.

Seven Principles for Effective Teaching in Undergraduate Education

Below are results of a survey that was sent out to 13,000 faculty across central and eastern Canada, which were synthesized to produce a new set of principles to help all members of the higher education community draw on common sense and practical knowledge to effectively educate undergraduate students. Results are awaiting publication, but a sneak preview is presented below:

1. Students prefer passivity – give it to them. No one expects sheep to be actively involved in their own shepherding, so how can we reasonably expect students to be actively involved in becoming educated? As it is for sheep, so it is for sheeple.

2. Feedback should be simple, and much can be coded in monosyllables. No one wants to read a lot of scribbling on their work - -and who among us wants to spend a lot of time scribbling words that others don’t wish to read. Develop a system of monosyllabic code words, each of which could represent an entire exclamation or proposition. “Good”, for example, could mean, “I didn’t enjoy reading this as much as I hoped I would, but then again, I wasn’t expecting much from you either. You’ve achieved what you can.” Speaking of which . . .

3. Match expectations to students’ levels of mediocrity. No matter what we do to them, some students just can’t learn. It’s really quite cruel of use to expect otherwise. We admit that we can’t “expect” a sheep into achieving flight, but we pretend we can “expect” a mediocre mind to recite the periodic table in under five minutes? Unreasonable.

4. Everyone is basically the same, and they learn the way you do. All sheeple are sheeple. They eat by chewing their food and swallowing, they walk by repeatedly placing one leg in front of the other, and they learn by listening to you talk and reading textbooks written by committees.

5. Public shaming motivates. After three hours of being humiliated in front of their classmates, enduring streams of invective with stiff upper lips, students will learn to finish their readings.

6. Extrinsic rewards motivate. See the following . . .

7. You’re not their friend, you’re their mature lover.

Although many of the seven seem plausible let me be the first to wish you a ...
Belated Happy April Fool’s Day!

FELC Summit Archives

The benefits for FELC members keep growing. As of today, the Summit Archives includes the presentation materials from many of those who presented at the 2009 FELC Faculty Development Summit. There is contact information for each presenter so that members can get more information if interested. We do hope that more members will become a part of the 2010 FELC Faculty Development Archives next year.

National Honey Board Announces Competition

The National Honey Board is pleased to announce its first Honey Lesson Plan competition exclusively for members of the Foodservice Educators Learning Community. This competition is designed to provide culinary arts educators a chance to show off their best practices when it comes to demonstrating culinary techniques, cooking styles and teaching culinary information regarding honey, first in a written format and then as a video presentation. The Honey Board will award a $2,500 cash prize for most outstanding lesson plan.

Details:
Secondary & Post–Secondary educators are welcome to send in a lesson plan demonstrating honey usage in one or more areas of the curriculum. For example, the lesson plan could include a lesson on breakfast, sandwiches, entrees, desserts, seafood, and global cuisines, cooking techniques or classical tea service. We encourage you to use your creativity!

The lesson should represent a 45 minute module that includes 7-10 minutes of honey education: production (hive to table), varietal honeys, honey bee pollination/sustainability, versatility of honey in menus and a menu application as a representation of the lesson learned. The lesson does not need to be exclusively about honey, rather how honey is utilized within the confines of the lesson being learned. For example, a lesson on preparing roasted lamb would incorporate 7-10 minutes of honey information and the introduction of a honey glaze along with the culinary fundamentals.

Winners:
All lesson plan entries must be submitted by May 3, 2009. Three finalists will be selected and requested to submit a 10-15 minute video presentation to complement the lesson plan. The grand prize winner will be chosen by juried peer review and a representative of the National Honey Board and will be awarded a $2,500 cash prize plus complimentary registration to the 2010 FELC Summit. The two finalists will receive $500 each.
Note: The three winning videos will be featured on the National Honey Board’s Web site and in future honey education marketing materials. Winners will be required to sign a release form.

Competition Requirements:
Entries for the competition will be accepted April 6 - May 3, 2009. Entries will be judged the first week of May (May 4-8) and three winners will be notified via e-mail. The final video must be submitted by June 12, 2009. The grand prize winner will be announced by June 29, 2009.

For full contest information visit Members Area of www.fooded.org

Go for it!

Five "P's" of Teaching

There is a gentlemen (and I mean that in every sense of the word), Louis Schmier, who teaches in the Department of History at Valdosta State University in Georgia. He regularly posts his "Random Thoughts" to the POD listserv and they are a joy to read. I got his permission to share one of his recent thoughts on the FELC blog today. Enjoy!

I remember from my childhood summer days of the late 1940s, when I was learning to fly fish in New York's Beaver Kill near Livingston Manor and Roscoe. "Ole Tim," as everyone called him, kept chiding me, "Do you want to be a fish catcher or a fisherman?"

He kept telling me over and over and over again that fly fishing takes more than rods and flies and casting. I remember him saying something like, "Be here, in the stream. You can't be in a hurry. You got to pay attention to the details of nature. You got to see the stream and listen to it, and open your eyes and heart to it." He also told me over and over and over again that if I didn't have passion, practice, persistence, patience, and, above all, peace of mind, all the rods and flies will be useless. He was talking about something deeper, higher, and greater than merely holding up a fish for a trophy picture. I didn't understand him. I was only eight or nine. I just wanted to catch a fish. Now, I haven't has a casting rod in my hands for nearly sixty years. Yet, I remember Ole Tim's words. I don't know why, but I do. And, now, as I seek to be an educational fisherman, I know what he meant. I know because what he said about fly fishing, what I now call "my five 'Ps,'" I now see are essential for my teaching, maybe for everything in my life: passion, practice, persistence, patience, and, above all, peace of mind.

Too many of us think there is only one "P" in teaching: pedagogy. But, now always hearing Old Tim's rebuke in my heart and soul, saying, "Do you want to be a fish catcher or a fisherman," I say, "Have all the pedagogical techniques and technologies you want, but if you don't have those five 'Ps'--passion, practice, persistence, patience, peace of mind--you'll not touch the essence of teaching and learning, and make a difference." Those "Ps," not the techniques or technologies, work on us and are omens of our teaching. We've got to be there, focused intently and intensely on the "now" of each day, in the classroom. We've got to pay attention to the details of each student, see each of them, listen to each of them, understand each of them, and open our eyes and hearts to each of them. As I just told some colleagues, if spirituality is something that enriches the soul, teaches someone something about themselves and how they fit into the world around them, as well as hopefully making them a better person, then teaching and learning are forms of spirituality no less than Ole Tim was saying about fly fishing.

These "Ps" are not chameleons; they're not conditional; they don't blow-in-the-wind or change-with-the-weather or change their color according to their surroundings. They steady us in the classroom no less than they do in the stream. They make the difference because what we take the time to understand makes a difference, because what we understand makes the difference in what we feel, what we think, what we say, and what we do. The more we tell ourselves to exercise those five "Ps" and commit to them, the more we move beyond our complaints and attempts to garner sympathy from others toward our vision, the more our labors become less laborious, the more we will smile, the more we reach out to embrace and touch each student, and, then, the nobler our future is likely to be. On the other hand, if we don't tell ourselves "love it," "be patient," "it's worth it," "it takes practice," "keep going," "cool it," "smile," we give our ideals permission to corrode and erode into ordeals; and, as we do, out of resignation and/or frustration--maybe even anger--we'll believe we need or deserve new deals. Then, we will become little more than educational fish catchers rather than accomplished and fulfilled fishermen.

Make it a good day.

Louis Schmier

Colin Roche Appointed to FELC Advisory Board

The FELC would like to welcome its latest addition to its Advisory Board. Chef Colin Roche has been in the hospitality field for over thirty years and has two associates, a bachelor, and a master’s degree in this discipline. His first associate is an AOS in culinary arts from Newbury College in Boston, while the other is an AOS in hotel and restaurant management from Southern Maine Technical College in South Portland, where he graduated valedictorian. Both his Bachelor of Science degree in hospitality administration and his Masters of Business Administration degree with a hospitality specialization are from Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida where he graduated with high honors. He is currently in the doctoral program at Florida Atlantic University pursuing his PhD in Higher Education Leadership.

A member of numerous professional organizations including the American Culinary Federation (ACF); ACF Greater Miami Epicurean Club; Florida Writer’s Association; International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education (CHRIE); Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association (FRLA); Foodservice Educators Learning Community (FELC); and the National Restaurant Association (NRA). He is also an American Red Cross volunteer; Florida Department of Environmental Resources Management volunteer; and active with the Boy Scouts of America Gulf Stream Council; as well as a member of multiple honor societies including The National Honors Society, Golden Key International Honor Society, and Sigma Beta Delta International Honor Society.

His numerous certifications include American Culinary Federation “Certified Executive Chef” (CEC); “Certified Culinary Educator” (CCE); “Approved Certification Evaluator” (ACE); as well as a certification practical exam test administrator. The National Restaurant Association has certified him a “Foodservice Management Professional” (FMP) as well as a ServSafe Sanitation Trainer and Proctor. From the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute he has earned the title of “Certified Hospitality Educator” (CHE); and has been certified by The National Registry of Food Safety Professionals as a Food Safety Manager.