Purdue HHS announces new head of White Lodging-J.W. Marriott, Jr. School of Hospitality and Tourism Management

Purdue University’s College of Health and Human Sciences (HHS) has announced Ceridwyn A. King as the next head of the White Lodging-J.W. Marriott, Jr. School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM), effective July 1, 2022. She will be preceded by Dr. Xinran Lehto, who has served as interim head since October 1, 2021, and will remain on the HTM faculty.

King joins Purdue from Temple University, where she currently serves as an associate professor in the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management and as director of strategic industry engagement for the Fox School of Business Translational Research Center. From fall 2016-20, she was chair of the Tourism and Hospitality Department.

Prior to joining the Temple University faculty in 2011, she started her academic career at Griffith University, following several years as a successful marketing executive. Most notably, she served as head of marketing for Conrad Jupiters Hotel and Casino, a 609-room leisure and entertainment facility with five restaurants, nine bars and a convention center, on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Since 2005, she has served as director and principal consultant for Seed – Strategic Marketing Solutions, of which she is also the founder.

“Dr. King is a creative, strategic and visionary leader who will be a changemaker for HTM,” said Marion K. Underwood, dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences. “She possesses a global understanding of higher education, far-reaching knowledge of the hospitality industry, and excellent marketing and communications skills. Her broad understanding of both the synergies and distinctive identities of HTM and its Division of Consumer Science, combined with her experience of leadership in a school with two distinctive identities, make for an exciting foundation on which to build a comprehensive and inclusive strategy for facilitating innovation and change in HTM.”

King’s research focuses on service management and marketing, with an emphasis on the internal stakeholder’s role in realizing marketing strategies to create competitively sustainable service experiences. She holds a PhD in marketing, a Master of Marketing Management, and a Bachelor of Hotel Management, all from Griffith University‘s Gold Coast campus.

In 2021, she was appointed as the Arthur F. McGonigle Research Fellow from the Fox School of Business and the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management. The award recognizes deserving scholars who contribute to the research reputation of the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management, the Fox Business School and Temple University.

She is the editor-in-chief of Taylor and Francis Group’s Services Marketing Quarterly journal, and she received the 2020 Cornell Hospitality Quarterly Outstanding Reviewer of the Year Award for her contributions to advancing the publication through active and insightful participation in the review process.