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PULLMAN – The WSU College of Business has announced that Nancy Swanger will head the School of Hospitality Business Management as director effective immediately. The new leadership change will take effect in June.
Swanger, who has been with the CB since 2000, will replace interim director Darrel Muehling, chair of the college’s marketing department. Muehling took on the interim director role in spring 2008 following the retirement of Dr. Terry Umbreit, who had led the department for 24 years. Swanger will work with college administrators to ensure that the leadership transition is smooth and seamless for students and faculty.
Swanger has considerable expertise in quick service restaurants, having owned or managed a variety of operations for the past 30 years. Her research interests include risk environment in hospitality operations; temperament and profitability; visible body modification; and hospitality curriculum.
“Dr. Swanger will be a strong leader for the School of Hospitality Business Management,” says CB Dean Eric Spangenberg. “Her continuing real-world experiences and research efforts will bring relevance and expertise to the program, giving our students applicable skills for their careers.”
The School of Hospitality Business Management began as the “hotel management” major in the College of Home Economics in 1932. It became “hotel and restaurant administration” in 1951, and “hospitality business management” in 2002. The SHBM offers a hospitality-focused business education from the fully accredited WSU College of Business, with expert instruction in the field of hospitality business management. It is consistently rated in the top 5 percent of the 170 similar programs in the nation. The program celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2007.
