UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – New additions to the Penn State School of Hospitality Management faculty – including two Penn State alumni – represent the breadth and diversity of the hospitality industry.
New faculty members include Bill Kidd, former Hilton Worldwide executive; Philip Jolly, a hospitality management researcher; and Kimberly Cooper, former food service administrator.
“As the school celebrates its 80th academic year, we welcome these terrific individuals to our faculty, each of whom represents the numerous pathways to success in the hospitality profession,” said Donna Quadri-Felitti, Marvin Ashner Director of the Penn State School of Hospitality Management. “They will serve as role models and contributors to developing the exceptional talent and thought leadership that our industry partners have come to expect out of the Penn State School of Hospitality Management.”
Kidd, a Penn State alumnus who previously served on the faculty from 1993 through 1997, most recently served as vice president of asset management for Hilton Worldwide. He held that role from 2009 to 2017, overseeing a portfolio of 17 of Hilton’s owned assets in the United States, including the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Hilton Chicago, the Hilton and Waldorf Astoria Bonnet Creek and Hilton Waikoloa Village. This portfolio comprised more than 13,000 guest rooms and generated over $1.38 billion in revenue and roughly $470 million in 2016.
Before joining Hilton, Kidd was a vice president in the asset management group at Host Hotels & Resorts, where he worked with the design & construction team and as an asset manager. Prior to his tenure at Host, he was the director of operations for Summit Hospitality Group and previously served as a hotel general manager, hospitality consultant with Laventhol and Horwath, and restaurant owner. He has more than 35 years of hospitality management experience.
Kidd received a bachelor’s degree in hotel, restaurant and institutional management from Penn State and an MBA from Georgia College.
Cooper, a Penn State alumna and instructor of hospitality management, previously served as food service director of Upper St. Clair School District in Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania, where she managed the Aramark Education account. Aramark has remained one of the long-serving recruiting partners at Penn State and its School of Hospitality Management, ranking among the top employers of the School’s graduates. She also oversaw menus to ensure compliance with federal guidelines and the district’s wellness policy while also managing the food service budget. Prior to serving as director, Cooper served as assistant food service director with the district.
Cooper’s background also includes full-service restaurant management, through which she oversaw staffing and scheduling, controlled costs, maintained inventory and trained new front of house employees.
Cooper earned both a bachelor’s degree in hotel, restaurant and institutional management and an MBA from Penn State.
Jolly, assistant professor of hospitality management, researches social cognition and diversity in organizations, including gender, ethnicity, religion and nationality.
Jolly’s dissertation research focused on beliefs about the relationships between leaders and followers, and whether or not those relationships are likely to change.
His other research focused on minority employee reactions in the workplace, development of gender gaps in leadership over time, managerial reactions to religious accommodation requests, and the role of female middle management in implementing new human resource management practices.
Jolly has a doctoral degree in organizational behavior and human resource management from the University of Houston, a master’s degree in general management from the University of Alaska Anchorage, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Montana State University.