University Park, PA - The International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (CHRIE) has named Donna Quadri-Felitti, Marvin Ashner Endowed Director and associate professor in the Penn State School of Hospitality Management, as recipient of the 2022 Stevenson W. Fletcher Award. 

The Stevenson W. Fletcher Award recognizes an individual educator, trainer, or administrator for outstanding achievement in contributing innovative ideas, methods or programs that have advanced teaching, learning or practice in the field of culinary, hospitality and tourism education. 

“This award is particularly meaningful to me, and I am both honored and humbled to be selected. The previous honorees are among the most innovative and recognized icons in hospitality management higher education,” Quadri-Felitti stated. “Stevenson Fletcher was a graduate alumnus of our Penn State program, and in his spirit as well as that of the last Penn State administrator to win this award, Dr. Sara Parks, I recognize the legacy of commitment these honorees leave,” remarked Quadri-Felitti. “I thank the faculty and staff with whom I serve every day for helping us stay focused on the future generation and our stewardship of the 85-year accomplishments of our alumni.”

The International CHRIE awards committee selected Quadri-Felitti for the Stevenson W. Fletcher Award by recognizing her contributions to hospitality education through research, scholarship, and service to hospitality education. The award also recognizes contributions to industry, in which Quadri-Felitti is currently serving as a trustee of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. Additionally, she is active in leadership in Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International among others. 

“The Stevenson W. Fletcher Award is one of the most highly valued awards presented to a selected ICHRIE member,” according to the executive director of ICHRIE, Fran Brasseaux. 

“Dr. Quadri-Felitti's efforts in both hospitality education and International CHRIE fully exemplify the spirit of the Stevenson W. Fletcher Award. Donna has been a true leader within ICHRIE," Brasseaux continued. "She has worked diligently to make important connections between the industry and hospitality educators. Her innovative ideas in higher education combined with her infectious enthusiasm have truly raised the bar for the advancement of hospitality and tourism education."

Quadri-Felitti joined Penn State in 2015 as associate professor and director of the School of Hospitality Management. Her directorship was endowed in 2016 by the late Marvin Ashner, a Penn State alumnus, with the intent of strengthening the University’s hospitality education programs with a specific focus on advancing excellence and enhancing the school’s visibility in the digital age. 

Prior to joining Penn State, Quadri-Felitti served on the faculty of the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism in New York University’s School of Professional Studies where her most recent post was as academic chair of the center. She earned a bachelor of science in education and a master of science in hospitality industry studies at New York University, and a doctorate in hospitality management at Iowa State University. 

The award was established in memory of Stevenson W. Fletcher, former program head of Hotel, Restaurant and Travel Administration at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.  

Quadri-Felitti will receive the award at the International CHRIE Annual Conference, which will be held Aug. 3-6 in Washington, D.C.