Boston University School of Hospitality Announces New Howard Johnson Executive-in-Residence Program
The Howard Johnson Executive-in-Residence Program Will Welcome Its Inaugural Guest, Chef Jacques Pépin, On November 29, 2016
(Boston – Wednesday, September 28, 2016) – The Boston University School of Hospitality Administration is proud to announce the newly established Howard Johnson Executive-in-Residence Program, beginning in fall 2016. Acclaimed Chef Jacques Pépin will serve as the first executive-in-residence on November 29, 2016. The program is graciously supported by a $100,000 gift from William H. Weeks in concert with the Howard Johnson Foundation.
The Executive-in-Residence program will allow the School of Hospitality Administration to host industry executives and leaders spanning one day to multiple semesters. Executives will lend their expertise to both faculty and students through lectures, workshops, mentorship, and elective courses.
“The School is thrilled to establish the Howard Johnson Executive-in-Residence Program so it may continue to foster relationships with hospitality and tourism experts while giving students the opportunity to extend their own professional relationships and opportunities,” said Dr. Arun Upneja, Dean of the School of Hospitality Administration.
William H. Weeks’ gift is made in honor of his grandfather Howard D. Johnson, Boston-native and founder of the American restaurant and motel chain Howard Johnson’s. Johnson is most accredited with founding the concept of restaurant franchising in the late 1920s. By 1965, the Howard Johnson brand included 770 restaurants and 265 motels. The inaugural guest, French Chef Jacques Pépin, will pay further tribute to Howard D. Johnson; Johnson was a regular guest at Le Pavillion restaurant in New York City where Pépin first worked after arriving to the United States in 1959. In 1961, Johnson hired Pépin to develop food lines for the Howard Johnson brands. Pépin went on to become an internationally recognized chef through his best-selling cookbooks and television shows including PBS series’ The Complete Pépin and Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home with Julia Child.
Weeks is the co-owner and general partner of L&S Cranberry which farms, packs, and stores fresh cranberries, and is a major provider to Ocean Spray. He also owns Sasco Creek Farm, a horse farm located in Southport, Connecticut. Sasco Creek Farm has raised and exhibited show jumping horses including Madison, twice named American Grand Prix Association Horse of the Year. He is a trustee of the Howard Johnson Foundation, director and second vice president of the National Horse Show’s executive board, a trustee of the United States Equestrian Team Foundation, and has recently been named a director of the Boston Bruins Foundation. He graduated from Lake Forest College in 1980 and lives in Wellington, FL with his wife and four children, three of which attended Boston University as undergraduate students.
About Boston University School of Hospitality Administration: Established in 1981, Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration (SHA) offers students a combination of rigorous academics, liberal arts curriculum and international experiences for the pursuit of success in lodging, restaurants, food service, and other avenues of the hospitality industry. SHA has a unique relationship with the city of Boston, where the area´s hotels and restaurants provide students with numerous opportunities for internships to satisfy work experience requirements for their degree.
About Boston University: Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized institution of higher education and research. With more than 33,000 students, it is the fourth-largest independent university in the United States. BU consists of 17 schools and colleges, along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes integral to the University’s research and teaching mission. In 2012, BU joined the Association of American Universities (AAU), a consortium of 62 leading research universities in the United States and Canada.