Wine and beverage industry leader Jamie Peha (’78) was honored as one of Puget Sound Business Journal’s 2024 Women of Influence. The title recognizes PNW women for their authority and power to drive change, professional accomplishments, service to community, and service as respected advisors and mentors.
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There’s no mistaking the kindly expression of Jerry Burtenshaw on the newly installed signage in the Department of Hospitality Business Management’s conference room. Family members, faculty, staff, and students of the Carson College of Business gathered in 2024 to celebrate officially naming the space the Jerry Burtenshaw Memorial Conference Room. The naming recognizes Jerry (’56) and Angelina Burtenshaw’s lengthy service to accelerate transformational hospitality education and experiences at WSU.
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When Bella Pretlow (’24) first moved from Anchorage, Alaska, to attend WSU Tri-Cities, she knew little about wine or her new home state. However, after earning her degree in wine and beverage business management in the spring, she’s determined to help elevate Washington wine to the acclaim it deserves.
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In a recent study, hospitality researchers found that disclosing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in hospitality services may unintentionally lower customer trust. “People are fundamentally uncomfortable with AI taking on roles that involve emotional or social engagement,” says Dogan Gursoy, WSU Regents Professor of hospitality business management and one of the authors of the study. “Businesses must be careful about how they disclose AI. The wrong messaging can alienate customers expecting human warmth.”
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As the senior living industry continues to rebuild after the oppression of COVID-19, the Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living is focused on growing enrollment and developing a strong future workforce prepared to disrupt and drive positive change. In the last academic year, 42 students from various WSU degree programs enrolled in HBM 375 Exploring the Business of Aging, bringing the total number of WSU students introduced to this industry to nearly 1,000 since the Carson College offered the first elective in senior living (now aging business management) in 2011.
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To appeal to the majority of consumers, winemakers may want to pay as much attention to what’s on the bottle as what’s in it. WSU researchers found women are more inclined to purchase wine that has labels with feminine gender cues. The more strongly the participants identify with other women, a phenomenon called “in-group identification,” the greater this effect is.
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Simply put—helping students fills her cup. That’s why April Reddout, a busy, successful wine consultant in Kennewick, Washington, accepted a new role as the manager of the online Wine Business Management Certificate in the WSU School of Hospitality Business Management. The noncredit program offers six learning modules developed and taught by WSU business faculty and industry professionals, including Reddout, with diverse business expertise. “This program is affordable and delivers a lot of content in a short time frame. The online format makes it flexible for people to succeed, which I love,” Reddout says.
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I support the hospitality program because of its impact over the years,” says Hall of Fame inductee Joe Fugere. “What I really love about the program is the combination of pragmatism, real-world application of experience, and scholastic aptitude wrapped into one. The SHBM leaders and the Carson College of Business administrators are great people with a soul. It really makes a difference.
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The WSU School of Hospitality Business Management’s first annual golf tournament was a swinging success with more than 60 participants. “We designed the event as a four-person team scramble to build community among our young alums and give our participating students professional experience with event management and networking with donors,” says Robert Harrington, SHBM director.
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When Mat Morgan was the food and nutrition director at TriState Health, his culinary staff often told him he’d make a really good teacher. He didn’t think much about it at the time. But when two friends and Indeed, an online job sourcing company, sent Morgan the same job posting for the director of the Marriott Foundation Hospitality and Culinary Innovation Center in the Carson College of Business, he took notice. “When I received three messages within a couple of hours, I took it as a sign I should apply for the position,” he says. He joined the WSU School of Hospitality Business Management in June 2023.
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