Conference Center Hotel joins Penn State Hospitality Services

5-2-97
University Park, Pa. -- It's official. After a year of transition and planning, Penn State Hospitality Services, a division of auxiliary services, is now operating the Conference Center Hotel at The Research Park.

On May 6, the first day the hotel operates under University management, guests will notice some small outward changes as workers install signs displaying the new name. Conference center employees will wear new name badges and telephones will be answered using the new name.

Other changes will become evident more gradually.

"Perhaps the most important change is in the organizational structure," James W. Purdum, general manager of Hospitality Services at Penn State, said. "Where we once had completely separate structures at the Nittany Lion Inn and Scanticon, we now have a central management team under Hospitality Services for both facilities."

Purdum, who was general manager of the Nittany Lion Inn, is now responsible for both of the University's hotel facilities under the direction of Tom Gibson, assistant vice president of auxiliary services. Sam Glasgow, who had been general manager of Scanticon, has joined the Penn State team as associate general manager of the unit.

"We now have central sales offices," Purdum said. "There's a single director of human resources in Mike Conti and a single director of sales and marketing in Fran Levin. Each facility will provide an on-site catering sales professional. Heather Mader at the inn and Delyn Heisey at the hotel are both available for social and 'walk-in' business. Judy Moyer is director of conference services for both locations and Jim Burket, the director of property operations, oversees the physical plant, housekeeping and all components of facilities management for both the Nittany Lion Inn and the Conference Center Hotel. We also now have Jeff Kranch as the director of business services for the whole operation."

This centralized management team will be able to concentrate on meeting the customers' needs and book the guest, seminar or banquet room that best fits each client's requirements.

"We are one unit with two locations," Purdum said. "Each location has its own flavor and its own strong points. We can now take full advantage of that in serving our guests."

While there are changes, many things will remain the same.

"We're not going in on May 6 to make major, drastic changes on that day," Purdum said. "Physical plant will be changing signs, but our focus is going to be taking care of the guests."

All contracts, room reservations and seminars arranged with the former Penn State Scanticon will be honored by the Penn State Conference Center Hotel. In fact, many of the same people who were involved in making those commitments will still be there, working for Hospitality Services.

"A lot of people liked the food at Scanticon. That won't change, because Ken Stout, former chef at Scanticon, has joined Penn State Hospitality Services. So he's still with us."

The Penn State Conference Center Hotel is the largest center of its kind in American higher education. Its merger with the Nittany Lion Inn under Penn State Hospitality Services will provide the most comprehensive range of conference services available on any university campus in the country. The two facilities provide a total of 387 guest rooms, 75,000 square feet of meeting space, state-of-the-art educational technology and four restaurants.

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EDITORS: Jim Purdum may be reached at (814) 231-7501 or jwp4@psu.edu You may also contact: Annemarie Mountz, (814) 865-7517 (office), (814) 867-7491 (home), axm219@psu.edu