Learning Environments Expert To Address Next Forum

February 9, 2000
University Park, Pa — Michael D. Olsen, professor of strategic management at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and director of research for the International Hotel and Restaurant Association, will be the guest speaker at the next Penn State Forum on Thursday, Feb. 17, in the Nittany Lion Inn Ballroom on the University Park campus. His topic is" "The Learning Environment of Tomorrow, what the Learner will Expect, and Implications for Institutions of Higher Education."

Olsen has been engaged in a global research program for the hotel and restaurant industry that has identified several key forces driving change. This effort has involved work in 20 countries on five continents and a diverse cross section of individuals, organizations, universities, multi-national corporations, as well as executives of small and medium size enterprises. He recently completed a White Paper, "Into the New Millennium for the International Hotel Association," which has become a baseline study on the global hotel industry.

He received his bachelor's and MBA degrees from Michigan State University and his Ph.D. from Virginia Tech.

Modeled after the National Press Club and sponsored by the Penn State Bookstore, the lunchtime series of lectures is an offering of the Penn State Faculty Staff Club and is open to the public. Lunch begins at 11:30 a.m. and the program, including the lecture and questions from the audience, begins at noon.

The next Penn State Forum will be held on Monday, March 13, at the Penn Stater and will feature Director of the National Science Foundation Rita R. Colwell.

Call 814-865-7590 for Forum tickets, which are $10 per person. Tickets may also be available at the door. For more information about the Penn State Faculty Staff Club, go to http://www.psu.edu/dept/fsc/ on the Web.