March 26, 2021 — John Niser, Ph.D., Director of the International Hospitality, Sports & Tourism Management School at Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU), does not mince words at meetings, which by their very nature often have reality checked at the door. John faces reality head on and even embraces it. Currently, enrollment in hospitality and culinary arts programs across the nation is a major concern. “Hospitality education in the USA is in grave danger. Enrollment is down everywhere. We have a major problem in five, 10, 15 years to come because we are not producing enough graduates for what the industry needs,” John said to Chaîne during a Jan. 27, 2021 phone interview.
Taking the helm at FDU in 2019, John is studying every aspect of the program to address the current crisis. John said attracting students to the profession is not about advertising job security as many do but rather, better promoting the profession as a lifestyle choice.
Another hurdle schools face is disinformation about hospitality careers. Parents often question why they need to pay tuition for four years so their children can become waiters and cooks. When John operated hotel schools in Switzerland, families readily invested $250,000 in tuition for their children to qualify for a top level job in the industry. Operating a multi-million dollar restaurant or hotel chain requires high caliber students with excellent skills across many disciplines, John added.
At FDU, he quickly made a few changes that included renaming the Bachelor of Science degree to more accurately reflect its strength in the marketplace. Students completing four years of coursework will now earn a Bachelor of Science in Luxury Hospitality Management. To provide students an immersive experience as they complete requirements for the degree, beginning in 2022, students will spend one semester living and working at The Gasparilla Inn & Club in Boca Grande, Florida. It’s a safe bet that this winter semester will be extremely popular for this course!
In addition, John and his school have completed the renaming of the Bachelor of Arts degree into a Bachelor of Arts in Hospitality and Tourism Innovation and Excellence. John also established a new minor in restaurant entrepreneurship to give students strong business preparation for their careers. John’s dad told him years ago it was very important to have one foot in the Excel spreadsheet and one foot in the operation, meaning it’s important to have a combination of strong business and analytical skills with a firm understanding and appreciation for operations. And as only a dad can impart wisdom, John’s dad told him, “John, management is like riding a horse. It’s about having a steel hand in a velvet glove.” John took that advice to heart.
“We are in a business that has to reinvent itself everyday,” John said. With strong support from FDU’s administration, John is guiding the school to even higher levels of innovation and excellence. They’ve redesigned their entry level Hospitality course. Instead of having students buy and read a $150 textbook, they are given a series of personas. Students must then match service profiles to those personas. For example, a family stopping for a night on the way to a vacation destination probably doesn’t need a tennis court, John explained.
Through this learning process, students construct their knowledge. In doing so, they take ownership of that knowledge, which they are sure to draw on over and over again throughout their career. The value of that construction of knowledge is priceless.
Of course, the pandemic has dramatically altered service needs. Before the pandemic, John said he was more bullish on independent hotels because of how the Internet revolutionized distribution and marketing channels. In general, people are looking for an authentic, genuine experience but because of the pandemic, travelers now want assurances of safety that large chains may be better equipped to provide. John serves on a national committee that is writing new codes the hotel industry will use to describe safety services and features they offer travelers.
It’s a perfect example of putting the guest first and foremost, a key tenet of the FDU program. “We are at the heart of connecting people, of creating safe environments for people, giving them room to enjoy themselves, giving them memories,” John said.
Career path
John came to his career in the Hospitality industry after spending a few years of service. Once that part of his life ended, his dad asked him if he wanted to go to school. It was not the right time for school so in the early 1970s, his dad, a hotelier, put him in a kitchen in Paris. “It was incredible,” John said as he explained how he learned the basics of not only cooking but also the culture of the profession. To an outsider, kitchens look chaotic but John said he learned the order, discipline and respect that was expected of him. He feels that is an extremely important and timeless element in hospitality and culinary careers.
“When I wear my whites, I spend 20 minutes making sure they are really very well ironed,” he said. “There is pride in doing that.” It’s one of many roots he planted early in his career that continues to influence his career today.
In French, le geste describes the myriad of physical movements chefs practice to perfection through education and experience. There is not an adequate English translation of the word, John said. As one example, how a chef whisks is elegant and has direct impact on the quality of the end product. The entirety of a ktichen’s le geste is critical to John.
With his practical, hands-on experience, John stayed grounded but soared in his career, ultimately opening many restaurants and hotels for Hilton around the world. As a general manager, he would have lunch two to three times per week with chambermaids in the cafeteria, heeding his dad’s velvet glove advice. He learned about problems he would have had no other way of knowing.
He admits to being impatient, always looking for the next challenge. After succeeding at top level executive positions with Hilton, it was now time to go back to school. He enrolled in Geneva University, falling in love with formal logic as he earned his doctorate in clinical psychology. Upon graduation, with his strong academic background and work experience, he served as the CEO for hotel schools in Switzerland and then in 2005, came to the United States.
FDU’s solid reputation in the industry and its affiliation with Chaîne attracted him to his current position. “The Chaîne is doing a fantastic job not only for FDU but also for a lot of institutions it supports,” John said.
The sentiment is mutual.
“The Chaîne Headquarters, based on the FDU campus in Madison, New Jersey, has enjoyed a 17-year working relationship with FDU’s School of Hospitality that has only gotten better since John’s arrival. John has reinvigorated the working relationship between the Chaîne and FDU and is helping us take this partnership to new heights with both young professionals and the Chaîne Foundation,” Kevin Dunn, Executive Director of Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, said.
FDU students are beneficiaries of John’s extensive career in both academia and Hospitality. Many years ago John pondered the difference between education and manipulation. He asked a philosopher friend of his to weigh in on the topic. His answer gave John a “ray of light” that he carries as his guiding light. “The answer is extremely simple. Manipulation – you’re decreasing choices. Education – you’re focused on increasing choices,” John said his friend told him.
In his current role, John constantly seeks to increase choices for his students. “If we do that, then we are as human beings, we have a much better chance of surviving rats in this world,” John said.
That’s where his dad’s advice for a steel hand comes in handy.
LINKS
Fairleigh Dickinson University International Hospitality, Sports & Tourism Management School