Leading Service‑Focused TransformationCornell Course

Kate Walsh is Dean of the Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration and E. M. Statler Professor. A professor of management, Dean Walsh has been a member of the Hotel School’s faculty since 2000. She received her Ph.D. from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College and her MPS degree from Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Fairfield University.

Dean Walsh’s primary research is in identity, leadership, and career development. She also conducts research examining the impact of strategic human capital investments. In addition to contributing to numerous books, Dean Walsh’s articles have appeared in such outlets as Journal of Management, Journal of Service Research, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Human Resource Management Review, Organization Science, Career Development International, The Service Industries Journal, Trends in Organizational Behavior, Research in Management Consulting, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, The Learning Organization, International Journal of Hospitality Management, and The Cornell Hospitality Quarterly.

Dean Walsh has extensive industry experience. She is the former director of training and development for Nikko Hotels International, corporate training manager for the former Bristol Hotels, and senior auditor for Loews Corporation. Dean Walsh is also a former New York State Certified Public Accountant.

Dean Walsh began her second term as dean on July 2, 2021. Since the beginning of her administration, she has focused on positioning Nolan for the future of hospitality business education as well as contributing to the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. This includes undertaking a comprehensive renewal of the graduate and undergraduate curricula, developing Nolan’s online global presence, launching two new graduate degree programs, and providing thought leadership for the hospitality industry, most notably through the creation of industry-based webinars to guide the industry during the pandemic as well as supporting extensive outreach and engagement through Nolan’s six centers and institutes.

Dean Walsh serves on the boards of the American Hotel and Lodging Association, including serving on its Educational Foundation’s DE&I committee, and Yonsei University’s School of Business.

Cathy A. Enz is Lewis G. Schaeneman Jr. Professor of Innovation and Dynamic Management, Emeritus, at the Nolan School of Hotel Administration in the SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University.

Professor Enz’s prior administrative roles included serving as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Associate Dean for Industry Research and Affairs, executive director of the Center For Hospitality Research, and School of Hotel Administration management area coordinator. She has published over 100 journal articles and book chapters, as well as five books in the area of strategic management and innovation. Professor Enz’s research has been published in a wide variety of prestigious academic and hospitality journals, such as Administrative Science Quarterly, The Academy of Management Journal, and The Cornell Hospitality Quarterly.

Professor Enz has taught courses in innovation and strategic management and is the recipient of both outstanding teaching and research awards. She developed the Hospitality Change Simulation, a learning tool for the introduction of effective change which is available as an online education program of eCornell. Three strategic management courses are also available through eCornell. In addition, Professor Enz presents numerous executive programs around the world, consults extensively in North America, and serves on the Board of Directors of two privately owned hotel companies.

Prior to her academic activities, Professor Enz held several industry positions, including strategy development analyst in the office of corporate research for a large financial services organization and operations manager responsible for Midwestern United States customer service and logistics in the dietary food service division of a large U.S. healthcare corporation. She received her Ph.D. from the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University and taught on the faculty of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University prior to arriving at Cornell in 1990.