CIA hires associate dean for business management

The Culinary Institute of America hired Rummy Pandit, former assistant dean and executive director of hospitality management at Rutgers University, as associate dean for business management.

Pandit holds a master's in Hotel Management from the Cornell School of Hotel Administration/IMHI and an MBA with a concentration in finance from Rutgers. Before joining the academic world, he held multiple managerial positions in the hospitality industry, including executive director of hotel operations for Harrah's Showboat Casino-Hotel and general manager of the Atlantic Palace Suites in Atlantic City, N.J.; general manager of the Shoreham Hotel in New York City; and rooms division manager at the Ritz Carlton in Boston. Pandit also holds a Certified Hotel Administrator designation from the American Hotel and Lodging Association.

"With its complexity and broad scope, today's foodservice and hospitality industry needs more and better-prepared managers," said Kathy Merget, CIA dean of liberal arts and business management, in a statement. "We want to expose our students to the latest business practices, technology and leadership opportunities, whether in the kitchen or the boardroom. Mr. Pandit's experience will help provide CIA students with the most advanced business applications at both the associate and bachelor's degree levels."