CIA Hires Rummy Pandit as New Associate Dean of Business Management

Bachelor's Degree Programs Focus on Preparing Industry Leaders.

As The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) continues to develop and strengthen its business management program, the college has hired a new associate dean for business management. Rummy Pandit comes to the CIA from Rutgers University, where he was assistant dean and executive director of hospitality management.

Most of the CIA's business management courses are offered during the junior and senior years for students pursuing baccalaureate degrees in culinary arts management or baking and pastry arts management. There are a record 559 students currently enrolled in their junior and senior years, with hundreds more freshmen and sophomores committed to earning bachelor's degrees from the CIA. Recent bachelor's degree graduates have been hired as managers, as management trainees, and in other supervisory roles for major foodservice corporations and hotel chains.

Through its business management curriculum, the CIA provides a hands-on business experience for its students, preparing them to excel in management challenges in areas such as finance, human resources, and marketing. One example is the senior-level Restaurant Operations class, a capstone course in which students conceptualize, develop, and execute special events.

"With its complexity and broad scope, today's foodservice and hospitality industry needs more and better-prepared managers," said Dr. Kathy Merget, CIA dean of liberal arts and business management. "We want to expose our students to the latest business practices, technology, and leadership opportunities, whether in the kitchen or the boardroom. Mr. Pandit's experience will help provide CIA students with the most advanced business applications at both the associate and bachelor's degree levels."

Mr. Pandit holds both a Masters in Hotel Management from the Cornell School of Hotel Administration/IMHI and an MBA with a concentration in finance from Rutgers. Before joining the academic world, he held a variety of managerial positions in the hospitality industry, including executive director of hotel operations for Harrah's Showboat Casino-Hotel and general manager of the Atlantic Palace Suites in Atlantic City, NJ; general manager of The Shoreham Hotel in New York City; and rooms division manager at The Ritz Carlton in Boston, MA. Mr. Pandit also worked in hotel and food and beverage management in France and India. He holds a Certified Hotel Administrator (C.H.A.) designation from the American Hotel and Lodging Association.

Comments

[New York Hotel]

This dude is the manager on The Shoreham hotel? really? Hi mate! I've been to your hotel last year and it was awesome! You should repeat more of those great offers you have on the lastminutetravel website. I booked it there and a pretty good price. Wouldn't mind visiting again. heh.