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“Transylvania’s liberal arts curriculum gives hospitality management students the best of both worlds. They get hands-on experience while also becoming well-grounded in a variety of disciplines that enhance their reading, writing, computational, and critical thinking skills.”
Dinner for 50 is a piece of cake for Transylvania business administration professor Mike Pepper. The students in his Quantity Food Production Management class regularly plan, organize, cook, and serve dinners in Transylvania's commercial food lab—all to the delight of faculty, staff, students, and guests who attend the meals.
"The food service industry is the largest retailer in the nation," Pepper points out. "There are always employment opportunities in the hospitality industry, and many of them include the chance to relocate. That's perfect for our graduates who aspire to travel."
Pepper has done his fair share of traveling over the past 30 years through his work as a consultant to private businesses and educational institutions. His expertise is in kitchen and dining facility planning and design, restaurant and industrial scheduling, cost control, and financial analysis. He's even been called on as an expert witness, answering questions about operations and terminology.
"I incorporate those outside projects in my course content and have involved owner/operators with my students," says Pepper. "I bring students a variety of cases and examples that connect textbook material with reality."
Recent publications
- Food Preparation with Prof Pepper: a laboratory manual with Prof's notes and favorite recipes
- Customer Service, MacMillan/McGraw Hill Publishing Company
- Starting Your Career in Food Service, MacMillan/McGraw Hill Publishing Company
- Fast Foods and Short-Order Cooking, MacMillan/McGrfaw Hill Publishing Company
- Safety and Sanitation, MacMillan/McGraw Hill Publishing Company
- Menu Planning and Cost Control, MacMillan/McGraw Hill Publishing Company
- Quantity Food Techniques, MacMillan/McGraw Hill Publishing Company
Professional memberships
- Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education
- National Restaurant Association
- Kentucky Restaurant Association
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
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Academic history
Courses taught
Recent publications
Areas of research
Awards
Academic history
- M.S., University of New Hampshire, 1969
- B.S., University of New Hampshire, 1966
- Food Service Organization and Management Graduate Courses and Strategies in Teaching in Higher Education, Rutger's University Graduate School, 1980s.
- Foodservice Management Professional Certification awarded in 1992, the highest credential awarded by the Educational Foundation of the National Restaurant Association
Courses taught
- Introduction to the Hospitality Industry
- Principles of Food Theory and Preparation
- Quantity Food Production Management
- Food and Beverage Controls and Purchasing
- Lodging Operations and Management
- Restaurant Management
- Travel and Tourism
- Internship
- Independent Study
- Introduction to Business
- Management and Organizational Behavior
Areas of research
- Foodservice Operations: layout and design, controls and purchasing, quantity production
Awards
- Bingham Award for Excellence in Teaching
- Fraternal Advisor of the Year, 2001, 2006
- Greek Supporter of the Year, 2009
- Edgar Ewing Brandon Outstanding Advisor Award, 2002
- Omicron Delta Kappa national Leadership Honor Society, 2001
- Who's Who Among College Teachers, 1998, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
- Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year, 2004, 2006
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