HOSPITALITY PROGRAM SUPPORTERS
Dr. Jonathan Brown attended the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, where he earned a BBA in Management as well as a Master of Business Administration. Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Hospitality Management at Iowa State University and his research interests include experiential learning within hospitality education, hospitality internship experiences, economic impact of the craft beverage industry, and program evaluation within hospitality education. As a lecturer with the Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality program at Kennesaw State University, Brown has taught multiple subjects ranging from beverage management and F&B purchasing to strategic hospitality management. Before entering academia, Brown spent 15 years managing hospitality businesses ranging from family-owned operations to large multinational corporations; these businesses included Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, Cabernet Steakhouse, World of Beer, and HMS Host.
Michael Leven is the former Chairman & Chief ExecutiveOfficer of the Georgia Aquarium. A major player in the hospitality industry, Leven has helmed six companies in addition to the aquarium, including Americana Hotels &Realty, U.S. Franchise Systems, Las Vegas Sands LLC and Las Vegas Sands Corp., Holiday Inn Worldwide, and Days Inn of America. He is the founder of U.S. Franchise Systems, which managed all franchise rights for the Microtel and Hawthorne Suites brands from 1995 until 2008, when Wyndham Worldwide purchased the company. Leven also founded The Asian American Hotel Owners Association. With more than 19,000 members, AAHOA is the nation’s largest association of hotel owners. Leven has been involved closely with Kennesaw State University for many years. In 2015, he became the then-largest single donor in the University’s history when he endowed and named the Michael A. Leven School of Management, Entrepreneurship and Hospitality at the Michael J. Coles College of Business. In addition, AAHOA has established an endowed scholarship partially in his name. The Michael Leven and Lee Dushoff AAHOA Scholarship for Compassionate Leadership supports Kennesaw State students in the hospitality management program. Since retiring from the aquarium in 2019, Leven has continued his philanthropy through co-founding the Jewish Future pledge dedicated to supporting Jewish causes. He also recently wrote the book Can’t Do It Yourself: How Commitment to Others Leads to Personal Prosperity. Leven earned his undergraduate degree from Tufts University and his graduate degree from Boston University. He has been married for 60 years to his wife Andrea. They have three sons and seven grandchildren.
32
KSU HOSPITALITY LEADERSHIP ANNUAL REVIEW
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs