HRM program ranks among world’s best for industry research

Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research

Northern Arizona University ranks high among the top 100 hospitality and tourism programs in the world for research in the industry, according to the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research.

NAU’s School of Hotel and Restaurant Management ranks 11th in the world for research output over a 15 year period—1992 to 2006—making it the top-ranked undergraduate program on the list in the journal’s November 2009 issue. The school also ranks 22nd out of the top 100 programs that provided the most scholarly contributions to 11 prominent hospitality and tourism refereed journals from 2002 to 2006.

Richard Howey, HRM executive director, said the program’s high ranking further solidifies its reputation as a world player in the hospitality and tourism field.

“Ours is not only a student-oriented teaching program, but also a well-rounded school that engages in research to enhance our discipline’s body of knowledge,” Howey said. “The breadth of research across many areas of hospitality and tourism is what defines us.”

Laura Huenneke, vice president for Research, echoed Howey’s sentiments and said the program’s ranking speaks to the impact that research and scholarship can have on the discipline and on the real world. “Our HRM faculty members routinely publish their work in high-profile international journals—the key test of quality,” she said. “This outstanding record of publication, sustained over the long term, is a truly impressive accomplishment.”

Howey added that the accomplishment is further underscored considering NAU has the top-ranked undergraduate program on the list. “Students will benefit from the research we do as much of the work finds its way into the classroom,” he said.

The complete article is available online: jht.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/33/4/451