To Our Graduates . . .

Dear Spring 2010 Graduates of the Dedman School of Hospitality,

It is with great pride in your accomplishments that I congratulate you in achieving college graduation.  Rest assured that you are entering the next phase of life with a tremendous foundation in understanding the management of businesses focused on high quality customer service.  Take pride in telling future employers and peers that you received your hospitality education from the Dedman School of Hospitality at FSU and they will know of the tradition for which we stand.  Take comfort in knowing you will always hold a special place in our hearts and that you have a home here in the Dedman School. In the near future your name will be permanently memorialized on the “Wall of Tradition” located on the second floor atrium lobby under the class of 2010.  I appreciate all the alumni who tell me they have shown their children and grandchildren their name on the wall.

As you progress in your career, I hope you will take the time to give back to the next generation of graduates by committing your time in returning to recruit interns and graduates.  I also hope you will come back to be a guest speaker in classes so you can share your experiences and insights with the students who follow in your footsteps.  It is one of the greatest joys of this position to see graduates come back and give their time and energy to the students in the Dedman School.  As time progresses, please keep in mind that your financial contributions will go a long way to securing our future and providing for the next generation of students.

As you know, this year has been instrumental and very meaningful for all of us as we embarked on the “Save Dedman” campaign.  While we are still very much committed to achieving financial self-sufficiency to support our program, I want you to know that all indications are that our program will not only continue, but will actually thrive in the coming years.  Already, discussions are taking place regarding planned expansion of our program to accommodate the demand for our major.  I want you to know, as a recent recipient of a degree in Hospitality at FSU, that it is very important to me that your diploma gain in value in the future, that the stature of our program will rise higher as we move forward.  You can always take pride in knowing that you were part of the Dedman School during this academic year and that you took part in the Save Dedman campaign.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your commitment to excellence in all that you do. 

I also wanted to encourage each of you to consider in your long term career plans the possibility of entering academia.  As you may know, many universities now offer hospitality programs and yet many of them will be in need of replacing retired faculty in the coming 15 years.  If you think you might enjoy the role of educator and researcher in your career, please feel free to contact me regarding the possibilities.  I know that the first time one of my professors in this department mentioned to me in 1983 that I should consider a career in university education, I was not interested at all…… 6 years later, I joined the faculty here and I have to tell you, it has been the most personally rewarding career I could have hoped for.  Again, if you are interested in discussing a career in academia further, please let me know.

As you embark on your next great adventure, I hope you will stay in touch with the Dedman School of Hospitality at FSU and let me know if I can ever be of assistance to you in any way.

Sincerely yours,

Jane