David W. Butler, who has served as associate dean of executive education at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration since 1993, has been nominated by President Hunter Rawlings to become the school's next dean, Rawlings announced today (May 4, 2000).

The Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees will vote on the nomination at its May 26 meeting in Ithaca.

Butler, who from 1988 to 1992 served as president of Menlo College in Atherton, Calif., will succeed David A. Dittman, who will step down from the dean's post when his current appointment ends July 1. Dittman has served as the Hotel School's dean since 1990.

"I am delighted to nominate David Butler as the Hotel School's next dean," Rawlings said. "Dr. Butler brings to this role a unique combination of skills and experiences. A former college president, he has a commitment to undergraduate education of the highest quality. His leadership of the Claremont Graduate School's Graduate Management Center underscored the importance of doctoral and master's programs in an increasingly complex world, and his immersion over the last seven years in our global executive education program has afforded him an in-depth understanding of the strengths and needs of the hospitality management industry. The synergy he brings to the School of Hotel Administration from these several roles will be tremendously important in the years ahead."

Butler expressed enthusiasm for the opportunity to serve as dean.

"I look forward to continuing to build upon the solid foundation for the School of Hotel Administration that has been laid by Dean David Dittman and his predecessors," he said. "We have a truly extraordinary and world-renowned faculty, a highly dedicated and professional staff and a superb student body. They are part of an international network of Hotel School graduates and leaders in the hospitality management industry that is without peer, and I will do everything I can to take advantage of their strong support for the school and its programs."

As associate dean of executive education at the Hotel School, Butler has been responsible for directing the global executive programs offered by the school and developing new programs. During his tenure, enrollments and revenues have increased, and multiple new programs, including 19 new certificate options within the Professional Development Program, have been added.

Butler was appointed president of Menlo College in 1988 after serving one year as dean of its School of Business Administration. In that position he restored the college to balanced operating budgets, introduced marketing programs, added full-time faculty positions and increased the endowment.

Butler also served as executive director of the Graduate Management Center of the Claremont Graduate School in Claremont, Calif., from 1977 to 1986, and as director of undergraduate studies in the Department of English at the University of Kentucky from 1972 to 1977.

A native of San Francisco, Butler earned a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1972; an M.B.A. from the Claremont Graduate School in 1980; a master of arts degree from California State University at Hayward in 1966; and a bachelor of arts degree from Stanford University in 1965.

Butler said his wife, Sandra, who was raised in Hong Kong, also looks forward to supporting the endeavors of Cornell's international programs in hospitality management. She received a degree in education from SUNY-Oneonta.