L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality & Tourism Management Impact Report FY23-24
Dear Donor,
Greetings from the L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality & Tourism Management!
We are the most personalized school of its kind in developing hospitality and tourism leaders and are entirely committed to serving our students. The results of this efort refect in our academic rigor, the practical job experience garnered through the work of the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Student Center for Professional Development, and the positive local and global impact of our entire constituency. We teach leadership in a real-world context, customized for each student, and we are proud of our 99% post-graduation job placement rate
We appreciate your dedication to our students and assisting them as they prepare themselves for successful careers in the industry.
Carl Winston, MPS Director of the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management
Changing Lives through Program Support
L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality Operating Fund
Ongoing support to the hospitality school from The Handlery Foundation provides opportunities for its students to learn best practices.
Founder Harry Handlery famously said, “To have every guest not question why they stayed here, but to question why they didn’t stay here before.” His legacy is put into practice with the training of the next generation of hospitality students.
L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality & Tourism Management students
Living the Aztec Experience
Camila Sofa Trejo, Class of 2024
Class Level: Undergraduate Student College: School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Major: Emphasis in Hotel Operations
I would love to be a hotel owner. I have been fortunate enough to be very involved in the industry, from working at a hotel to attending diferent conferences and events.
Making connections with professionals in the industry has allowed me to learn from them and see all the diferent paths to hotel ownership.
Joshua Unrau, Class of 2024
Class Level: Undergraduate Student College: Recreation Tourism Management
Major: Emphasis in Sustainable Tourism Management
Not only did the education I received prepare me for the challenges that arise in a guest service-based industry, but it allowed me to partake in an internship.
I was fortunate enough to intern with the Walt Disney Company for eight months working at Walt Disney World, and the knowledge that I gained there was invaluable. It also gave me a foot in the door with the company, which I have leveraged to the best of my ability as one of my goals is to work in park management for the Walt Disney Company.
I am currently interviewing for a theme park operations internship in Disneyland, which would be a dream come true and is something I would have never fathomed without the education and learning environment at SDSU.
Celebrating Shared Success
Recent Rankings
Leads the CSU’s Hospitality & Tourism Alliance for all campuses teaching in this feld across California. This refects our leadership and strong connection to industry leaders in California and beyond.
Our master’s program is ranked the third-best hospitality and tourism graduate program in the country.
Statistics of Interest
We have graduated nearly 2,000 undergraduates since 2003, with about 125 in a typical year. Currently, we have over 500 enrollments in our undergraduate and graduate degree programs. About half our graduates fnd employment in California while the remainder venture all over the USA.
We have graduated about 200 master’s students, with only about 20% residing in California.
Recent Highlights
Thanks to its level of excellence, industry-wide prestige, and personalized care for our students, HTM is able to attract and retain leaders in the felds of hospitality and tourism. Many of our master's alumni return to SDSU as instructors, mentors, and guest lecturers. #3
Our master’s program is ranked the third-best hospitality and tourism graduate program in the country.
500+
Over 500 enrollments in our undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Helping to Build a Brighter Future
Sandra Ponting, Ph.D.
Title: Assistant Professor
College: Hospitality and Tourism Management
Achievement: Sandra provides undergraduate students with essential instruction in core hospitality and tourism leadership classes .
She also spearheads the school's assessment eforts to enhance student learning in two undergraduate programs.
Dr. Ponting teaches lower—and upper-division undergraduate courses, including Introduction to Hospitality and Tourism Management, Service Leadership Development, and Hospitality Leadership and Self-Development.
Her research interests include emotional labor, industry professionalization, organizational identity change, and professional identity construction, all in the context of hospitality and tourism workforce development.
She is passionate about assisting students with fnding personally meaningful careers in the industry.
Thank you, Dr. Ponting, for all you do for our students!
