Richard “Rick” Adie ’75
The Story
Hotel Ezra Cornell 49 – 1974
Richard Adie ’75 – Director of Front Office Operations
Modeled after the Grand Old South, the 49th HEC, “A Touch of Southern Charm,” offered a return to gracious hospitality and relaxed living. The board of HEC 49 centered the weekend more on the “fun” aspects of HEC. “On the Rocks,” a musical comedy, was written and produced for the entertainment of the guests. The Friday buffet featured Southern regional specialties, and Saturday’s South of the Border luncheon tied into the theme. John Portman, developer and architect, and Les Thomas, utility consultant for the American Hotel and Motel Association, both spoke on the energy crisis in the hospitality industry. The low-energy approach to HEC 49 was also in keeping with the economic realities of that year’s OPEC oil crisis.
Hotel Ezra Cornell 50 – 1975
Richard Adie ’75 – External Marketing Director
Fifty years of HEC were commemorated with the theme “The Way We Are.” In honor of the golden anniversary, the guest list was increased with 600 in attendance. To accommodate this large number of guests, five themed restaurants were opened for Friday’s dinner. On Saturday night the board broke from the traditional formal banquet to offer a less formal “Winner’s Circle” in Barton Hall, decorated to represent a racetrack.
Seminars were an important part of HEC 50. One panel considered the question of legalizing gambling. A second seminar discussed the mission and curriculum of the school. A forum with the Hotel School students was launched during this golden anniversary year, offering students and guests the opportunity to meet and become familiar with each other.
Excerpt from: The Best Ever: Memories of Hotel Ezra Cornell
Early Beginnings to a Career in Hospitality
Richard “Rick” Adie grew up in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. His business career started early delivering TV Guides and then the local afternoon newspaper. He also worked after school at a drug store and at Dunkin Donuts.
As a lark in the summer of 1970, Rick sent letters to several hotels seeking a summer job on the Maine Coast. It was not his interest in hotels that encouraged this outreach, rather, the prospect of spending a summer on the seacoast. To his surprise, a letter offering a summer job arrived from the Marshall House in York Harbor, Maine. The Marshall House was a summer resort operated by the historic Pinehurst Resort. Rick reported to work in the housekeeping department and advanced quickly from houseperson duties to delivering ice to guestrooms, sometimes collecting a 25-cent tip.
During his senior year in high school and contemplating what to study in college, Rick made the decision to study business within the context of hospitality. His sights were firmly set on Cornell.
The summer prior to attending Cornell, Rick worked at the Chelmsford, Massachusetts Howard Johnsons hotel in housekeeping, landscaping and maintenance. This is when he learned about “after hour calls,” having to return to work several times to remove objectionable floating items from the swimming pool, among other interesting tasks.
The Cornell Years Part 1: 1971 to 1975
As a first-generation college student, it was a thrill to gain admission to the Cornell Hotel School. It soon became a chill when his father informed him that he could be of no financial assistance for college tuition or expenses. Thus began Rick’s four-year relationship with the Statler Inn. Work began in the Statler main kitchen before classes started, and then shortly afterwards at the Inn’s front desk. Little did he know that the Stater is where his career would wind down 47 years later.
Rick and his fellow students working at the front desk became a lifelong affinity group. It was also the on ramp to Hotel Ezra Cornell. Steve Weisz ’72 was managing director of HEC 47 and he and fellow front desk staff members Michael Sansbury ’74 and Earle Pang ’72 were board members. The impressionable freshmen at the front desk were soon actively recruited into HEC.
Statler Inn
The 50-room Statler Inn front desk was equipped with a switchboard that used cords to connect calls to guestrooms. The NCR 4200 was the hotel technology of the day. When Mark Woodworth ‘77 started at the Statler front desk, he was never able to master this complicated technology.
Throughout the history of the Hotel School, it was a challenge to effectively integrate the Inn/hotel operation with the course work. Looking back, there was little sharing of the Inn’s business information with the students working at the hotel. Students had jobs and learned skills in the hotel but were not engaged in the higher-level business aspects of the operation.
In the summer and fall of 1974, Rick participated in the Statler Inn work study program as the Inn’s human resource director. With him on the work-study team were Zev Lavon MPS ’75, PhD ’82, Vernon Ellinger ’76, Mike Komins MPS ’75, Jeff Zimmerman ’75, Mike Greene ’75, and Jim Porter ’75. The team reported directly to Normand Peckenpaugh ’72, the Inn’s General Manager, who managed the Inn with military precision.
On a beautiful Ithaca Fall day in October 1971, Rick took a walk around the Arts Quad to clear his mind and admire the vibrant colors of the leaves on the trees. He was also trying to work through how he was going to tell his father how he would likely “flunk out” because of Food Chemistry with Professor Laura Lee Smith. Dean Michael Johnson would later tell the legend of Laura Lee’s ability to write on the blackboard with both her right and left hand simultaneously. That may be true, but she could also erase the chemical formulas quicker than they could be written down. The “nail in the coffin” was the second semester final exam. Rick recalls, “We were given a label from a food can and told to chemically diagram the ingredients.” Still traumatized, but knowing never to put fresh pineapple in Jello (bromelain), Rick passed the course.
At Cornell, Rick took full advantage of many opportunities outside the classroom and Statler Inn. He rose to be president of his fraternity, was inducted into Ye Hosts, tapped for the Quill and Dagger honorary society, chair of the Student Faculty Committee and a member of the Hotel School Triad Committee.
Hotel Ezra Cornell was the activity that occupied the most amount of time and commitment. After being recruited as a freshman by Steve Weisz ’72, Rick remained engaged with HEC for four years, serving on the Board of Directors of HEC 49 and 50. He still believes that HEC is the most important activity for all Hotel School students to participate in, respecting the heritage and legacy of the event. HEC is an enduring tradition that weaves itself through the history of the school, something all hotel students should be enormously proud of. Rick still counts among his closest friends those whom he worked with on Hotel Ezra Cornell.
HEC 50 Board Members in Dean Beck’s office.
Seated from left to right: Jeanne Fattori Reinig Smith, Barbara Foote Shingleton,
Laurie Clemente Milnor, Al Cleary, Sindy Okonow Finkelson, Mary Baumann Pesaresi,
Caren Whiteman Kline. Standing: Harold Mejia-Domenech, Rick Adie, John Rijos, John Berndt, Robert Colombo, Michael Greene, Mark Woodworth and Rick Hayes.
HEC 50 Board Members at HEC 100
Back row: Rick Adie, Joe Lavin, Al Cleary, Mary Baumann Pesaresi.
Front row: Sindy Okonow Finkelson, Laurie Clemente Milnor, Barbara Foote Shingleton,
Caren Whiteman Kline, Mitzi Kehn Fritz, and John Berndt.
It was a sense of pride to be part of the board for the golden anniversary of HEC 50 in 1975. With over 600 guests in attendance, it was both an exciting and a logistical challenge. For Friday night HEC 50 the students executed five separate dinners in the tiny Statler Inn. Saturday night’s gala banquet was a formal celebration with dinner and dancing in Barton Hall. When Dean Beck returned to campus for the dedication of the Robert A. and Jan M. Beck Center in 2004, he told the story of walking around Statler Hall after one HEC weekend and opening closet doors to find dead goldfish floating in buckets of water.
Former Statler Inn front desk staff from the 1970s at HEC 100
Mark Woodworth ’77, MPS ’78, Joe Pesaresi ’75, Al Cleary ’75, Steve Weisz ‘72, Rick Adie ‘75
The four years at Cornell were defining and memorable for Rick. He remembers fighting back tears as he drove away from campus in June of 1975 to begin his career with Hyatt Hotels.
Hyatt Hotels 1975 to 2002
Rick began work at the Hyatt Regency Chicago in July of 1975 as a management trainee. The Hyatt had been open for only one year under the direction of General Manager Colgate Holmes ‘56. Horst Schulze was the F&B Director of the hotel. Holmes was the consummate hotelier and a stellar role model. Each morning during hotel rounds, Mr. Holmes, always impeccably stylish, would stop at the front desk to review the MOD logbook. After Mr. Holmes left, the front office managers would rush to see what he had written in the margins of the log about how well or poorly we had handled a guest situation.
After a year at the front desk and housekeeping in Chicago, Rick was transferred to the newly opened Hyatt on Hilton Head Island as the executive housekeeper. The housekeeping department functioned at the mercy of “Mr. Sandy” who daily brought the housekeepers to the property by school bus from Bluffton, SC. If the bus broke down, there was no staff.
In early 1977, Rick returned to the 1000-room Hyatt Regency Chicago as the front office manager. He also gained F&B experience in the restaurants and stewarding department. He was then transferred to the 100-room Hyatt House City of Commerce (southeast of downtown LA) as the rooms division director.
Before long, Rick was transferred to the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill as the rooms director. Shortly after arriving in DC, Richard C. “Dick” Nelson ’57 returned to Washington as the VP and general manager of the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill. Dick was the consummate hotelier and an expert networker, widely regarded as “Mr. Washington.” Working with Dick became a master class in hotel operations as well as in community and client relations.
Soon it was off to the Hyatt Regency Houston and then returning to Chicago to the now 2000- room Hyatt Regency Chicago as the rooms director. There, Rick had the opportunity to work for two legendary Hyatt leaders: Don DePorter and Tim Lindgren.
With Chicago being the home to Hyatt’s founders and owners, the Pritzker family, there were frequent interactions with Jay and Cindy Pritzker, as well as Tom, Nick and John. It was inspirational to see the humility of the family and the quiet but impactful way they guided Hyatt and contributed to the city of Chicago.
Hyatt Regency West Houston
Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center
Rick was only 29 when he was tapped to be the opening general manager of the 400-room Hyatt Regency West Houston in the center of Houston’s new Energy Corridor. His second opening as a general manager was in 1985 for the 450-room Hyatt Regency Tech Center in Denver.
Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport
Hyatt opening number three for Rick was the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport in 1988. This 780-room convention hotel replaced the original Burlingame Hyatt House Hotel on the same site. It was also the early corporate office of Hyatt, then under the direction of Don Pritzker (father of JB and Penny) and Hugo Friend. The new Hyatt Regency was enjoying a full house during game three of the 1989 World Series between Oakland and San Francisco. Just after 5 pm on October 17, the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred at a magnitude of 6.9. The hotel experienced structural damage and a loss of power. It was a challenge taking care of the traumatized guests and staff. Subsequently the hotel closed for many months for structural repairs.
Rick was transferred back to Hyatt Regency Chicago (for his fourth tour) as the general manager before the San Francisco Airport hotel re-opened. In 1992 he moved to Kansas City for his fifth general manager post at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center.
The Hyatt Regency Crown Center was owned by a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. It was inspirational to see the commitment of Hallmark Cards and the Hall family to Kansas City. The Hall family and The Hall family Foundation continue to work tirelessly to create permanent solutions to community needs in the Greater Kansas City area.
Hyatt Regency Crown Center – Kansas City
Rick & Mary Adie – Full-time ambassadors for Kansas City
Kansas City Star – March 1998
Inspired by the “go-give” philosophy of the Hall family and questioning how he could make a greater impact in the hospitality industry, Rick jumped at the opportunity to return to Cornell in 2002 as the managing director of the Statler Hotel. After 27 successful years with Hyatt, Rick was coming home to Cornell.
Kansas City Star article announcing Adie’s return to Cornell
Kansas City Star tribute – May 2002
Letters from Hyatt Leaders Thomas Pritzker and Don Hall on Adie’s Return to Cornell
Cornell Part 2: 2002-2018
CHS Bulletin, Fall 2003
Rick was only the third general manager of the Statler Hotel, following Hans Weishaupt ’64 and Jim Hisle ’69. Dean David Butler gave Rick two unique challenges: 1) take the Statler to the next level of excellence, and 2) achieve the decades’ old goal of the hotel being a learning laboratory for the students at the Hotel School. Rick embraced this challenge and believed that the “keys” to the Statler Hotel should be given to the students. For Rick, this was a wonderful opportunity to share his knowledge and work to develop the next generation of hospitality professionals.
Hotel Leadership Development Program
Working with Associate Dean Leo Renaghan, and with initial foundational work by faculty member Mark McCarthy ’86 and the hotel’s HR Director Rick Kuhar ’86, Rick established the Hotel Leadership Program (HLDP). In the fall of 2003, the HLDP program launched as a management trainee program with nine students enrolled. Under the guidance, direction, and mentorship of the Statler management team, the students rotated through operations jobs, were given supervisory responsibilities, and subsequently, director roles. Rick’s goal was to give the students as much responsibility as possible to allow them to become confident in making decisions, and in managing both fellow student staff members and the Statler’s permanent staff. As the students progressed in the program, they would have substantial influence in the direction and success of the hotel.
During their sophomore year, HLDP students take an academic course focused on developing supervisory skills, first taught by Professor Tim Hinkin and subsequently by Ravinder Kingra MMH ’12. A seminar series brings in about 15 speakers a year covering a wide range of industry topics. During these meetings, the students learn to analyze and critique the Statler’s P&L statement, understand the annual budgeting process, and review the hotel’s sales and marketing plan. The goal was not only transparency in the Statler Hotel operation that they were helping to operate, but an early exposure to issues they would face in their first assignments after graduation. A by-product of this practice was the engagement and pride that the students had in “their hotel.” Later, an Asset Management Track was added headed by Tim Dick MPS ’88, which provided HLDP students an opportunity to annually conduct a full asset management review of the hotel.
HLDP Senior Day at the Bell Stand 2013
Each January, the students who have reached the highest levels in the HLDP program are invited to attend an industry study trip. Students visit a selected city and meet with hotel companies, restaurant groups, sports stadiums, convention bureaus and the like. Students interact with and learn from industry leaders, many of whom are our successful and generous alumni. For many years this trip was sponsored by Steve Weisz ’72 and Family in support of the program, with appreciation of the hotel’s commitment to experiential learning and management development of hotel students.
HLDP Trip to Orlando 2017 with Steve Weisz ’72
Marriott Vacation Club
The HLDP program was initially supported financially by Starwood Hotels and subsequently by Four Seasons Hotels through the commitment of Simon Turner ’83 and Ed Evans ’74.
While one of the stated goals for students in the program is management development for hotel and restaurant operations, a secondary set of outcomes include gaining management experience, people management, and dealing with challenging guest situations. Most importantly for Rick was for the program to help students develop essential soft skills critical for workplace success, such as communication, teamwork, problem solving, critical thinking, empathy, and integrity. The practical hotel experience combined with academic work provided students with an opportunity to use their hotel experience as an example in their class work, and to bring what they were learning in class to the hotel. A true “learning laboratory” that supports and enhances the mission of the Hotel School is transformative for the students in the program.
Program Praise from former HLDP Students
HLDP influenced my career by showing me the value of breadth — understanding a bit of each department or function — allowing me to find my true passion and making one a valuable generalist in your organization.
~ Michael Scheinman ’10, CEO, Campspot
I use strategies that I learned through HLDP to help train staff, create training documents, and suggest improvements to operations. I consider the program to be one of the single most important experiences from my undergraduate studies.
~ Jonathon Spada ’10, Owner, JONNY; and Bar Manager, Teatro della Cometa
Rome, Italy
HLDP helped provide me with management experience and exposure to excel as a leader upon graduation. HLDP not only gave me the confidence to succeed, but the supportive training ground to learn from mistakes and tackle new challenges. For that I am immensely appreciative for everything the program afforded me.
~ Sam Eisenman ‘13, President, Trinity Property Consultants
Irvine, CA
The HLDP program let me participate in the senior-level management of a multi-million-dollar business prior to completing my undergraduate degree. Corporate training programs rarely expose entry or mid-level managers to executive-level decisions beyond classroom-style presentation. HLDP gives students the opportunity to be decision-makers and team leaders with the support and guidance of the Hotel’s executive team. It’s an invaluable time to learn from mistakes and develop leadership skills before implementing them in future careers.
~Cathy Popp ’10, Senior Manager, Supply Chain Management
Amazon Shipping, Seattle, WA
With HLDP Graduates – 2008
Credit for Success
Dean Meek at one point said about his success in leading the Hotel School: “This is a case where one man gets the credit for what a lot of others have done.” Many people participated in the execution of the HLDP program. It was a team effort of the Statler Executive Committee, department managers and line employees who took great pride in sharing their skills with the students.
Among those who made enormous contributions to our Statler success are Nicole Boosembark ’02, Jess Cisco ’12, Josh DeBottis ’02, Tim Durnford MMH ’97, Thomas Gisler, Rick Kuhar ’86, Barbara Lang ’78, Greg Mezey ’09, Rebecca Rypkema, Kelly Scalia ’99, Linda Shattuck, and Cyndee Wild.
Many faculty members made themselves available to share their knowledge as we worked through improvements to hotel operations and systems.
Rick is also very appreciative of the direction, guidance, encouragement, and support of the four deans with whom he worked at the Statler Hotel: David Butler, Interim Dean Sherri Kimes, Michael Johnson and Kate Walsh MPS ‘90.
A Tribute to the Statler Hotel and Statler Hall Staff
The contribution that hotel and school staff make to the hotel students is often overlooked or unrecognized. Rick still recalls interacting with and benefitting from the guidance that Helen Ayers, Edna Osborn, Mary Loughnan and Cheri Farrell gave him as a student. The staff are often there to lend an encouraging word or help guide a student through a personal or academic challenge. Many of the staff receive a “psychic reward” from working with the students. The students are not viewed as a burden or interruption, but rather with a sense of pride to see their growth during their years at Cornell. Each student brings their own unique personality and skill set. The Statler staff – housekeepers, maintenance staff, culinarians, and administrative assistants – are often as proud of the new hotel graduates at commencement as the parents are. The staffs’ knowledge and empathy contribute to the unique “secret sauce” of the Cornell Hotel School experience. For many years after his retirement, Fleet Morse, a 40-year Statler veteran, would come to the lobby of the Statler on the first day of HEC to say hello to former students who were now industry leaders.
With Statler Terrace Restaurant Staff – 2017
Achievements and Awards at Cornell
- Rick and his team brought the hotel to the highest occupancy level in its history and maintained a 200% RevPAR
- The 1989 construction debt was retired during Rick’s tenure at the hotel
- Achieved the AAA Four Diamond Status for the first time- the only four diamond hotel in Ithaca
- Expedia Travelers Choice award
- Ithaca’s #1 hotel in Trip Advisor
- Renovation of guest rooms, Taverna Banfi, Regent Lounge, and the Carrier Ballroom
- Sustainability initiatives – working with Hersha Hotels leading to the 2014 Good Earthkeeping Award, the greenest award bestowed by the New York State Hospitality and Tourism Association
- The Hotel Leadership Development Program
With the Statler Hotel Staff – Upon Receiving the AAA Four Diamond Award
Rick and Dan Simms, Statler Maintenance, proudly display the AAA Four Diamond Award
Management Philosophy
Ken Blanchard ’61 frequently visited the Statler, particularly when he spent summers at Lake Skaneateles. Ken Blanchard’s philosophy of managing people emphasizes the importance of servant leadership, where leaders prioritize the needs of their team members to foster a supportive and empowering work environment. Rick has always attempted to manage with a servant’s heart. Living by the credo of Bill Marriott that “success is never final,” Rick managed with persistent pressure for improvement in customer service, instilling pride, financial results and a “best in class” supportive working environment. His quiet, contemplative demeanor masked his underlying passion for excellence. Rick would often say to his team “the pursuit of mediocrity is always successful.” Rick credits much of his success to being respectful to people on all levels. He has never lost sight of appreciation for the staff members who make a hotel successful day to day.
The Statler Inn and Hotel
While Dean Meek conceived the idea of a practice hotel in the early days of the school, the depression and World War II delayed the reality of the vision until 1950. The school has been fortunate to have the Inn and Hotel for 75 years. Rick has often stated that the Statler Hotel and Inn is the origin story of thousands of todays and past hospitality leaders. No hotel could have produced the volume of industry icons who spent time working and learning at Statler.
Family Life
Rick Adie met future wife Mary behind the front desk of the Hyatt Regency Chicago in early 1977. Their ability to speak “Boston” to each other drew them together, as Mary grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts. Their four-year courtship began with dating in Los Angeles, later becoming engaged in Washington DC, and then in 1981 starting married life in Houston. Their first child, Patrick, was born in Houston. Their second child, Kate, was born in Chicago while Adie was GM of Hyatt Regency Chicago. As a married couple, the Adie’s shared eleven relocations.
Mary helped work on the first Regency Club at Hyatt Regency Chicago. Her ability to charm guests was legendary, being able to “walk” (relocate) an entire bus load of conventioneers to another hotel and have them thank her. Mary’s Hyatt career concluded as a sales manager working alongside John Pritzker at the Water Tower Hyatt before moving to DC. Mary headed the International Visitors Council in Kansas City and was the director of special programs and executive education for the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions at Cornell.
Son Patrick decided not to pursue a career in hospitality and is currently living and working in Los Angeles. Daughter Kate ’13, a Hotel School graduate, is a leadership and management development consultant at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Kate is married to Dylan Clemens ’14 A&S.
Rick, daughter Kate and husband Dylan, Mary, and son Patrick – Ireland – 2023
Honors and Recognition
- Hyatt Hotels General Manager of the Year in 1991
- Little Cities National Basketball Players Association Community Service Award 1991
- Greater Kansas City Missouri Hotel Association General Manger of the Year in 1999
- NY State Hospitality and Tourism Association’s Outstanding General Manager of the Year for the State of New York in 2017
- “Rick Adie Day” proclaimed by Mayor Emmanuel Clever February 1998
- Howard Cogan Award for Tourism, Ithaca, New York in 2018, awarded by the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce
Mayor Cleaver (Congressman) presents “Rick Adie Day” Proclamation – Kansas City
Community and CHS Involvement
- Convention Bureau Member: Chicago, Denver, San Mateo County CA and Kansas City
- Rotary Paul Harris Fellow. Rotarian in Denver, San Francisco and Kansas City
- Assistant Board Chair Baptist Memorial Hospital, Kansas City
- Board Chair Trinity Lutheran Hospital Kansas City Missouri
- Board Member Health Midwest Hospital System Kansas City Missouri
- Advisory Board of University of Missouri KC Hospitality Program
- Board Chair of the Kansas City Convention and Visitors Bureau
- Chairman of the Greater Kansas City Day event to raise funds for the Rotary Youth Camp, Kansas City Star and Kansas City Royals- raising $1 million dollars.
- Urban League of Kansas City Board of Governors
- Cornell University Council member
- Quill and Dagger alumni board
- Tompkins Cortland Community College hospitality program advisory board
- CHS Board: Secretary and Director at Large
- Cornell Hotel Society Foundation: Secretary
- Board Chair Tompkins County Strategic Tourism Board
A Salute to our Hotel School Alumni
Working at the Statler opened Rick’s eyes to the selfless generosity of our Hotel School Alumni. Hundreds of alumni assisted Rick during his tenure at Cornell. Alumni were generous with their time in meeting with our students, hosting them on HLDP trips and being available when insight was needed into issues. With a call out to “the real world,” as Rick described it, alumni were able to assist with summer internships and permanent placements for students. There was never a time when he reached out that a supportive alumnus was not willing to assist.
Of exceptional help were Christophe Bergen ’76, Raj Chandnani ’95, Tim Dick MPS ‘88, Bill Eaton ’61, Dave Hanlon ’66, Mike Hirschler ’99, John Longstreet ’77, Phil Miller ’83, John Nicolls AA&P ’72, MPS ’01, Mary Pesaresi ’75, Richy Petrina ’01, John Schafer ’79, John Sharpe ’65, Scott Taber ’85, Bennett Thomas MBA ’03, Simon Turner ’83, Steve Weisz ’72, and Mark Woodworth ’77, MPS ’78. Mary Wright ’45 became a friend and mentor, so much so, that when she was no longer able to drive to Cornell Rick would arrange to pick her up halfway between Cooperstown and Ithaca so that they could spend some time together.
Additionally, John Mariani ’54 and Ginny Mariani-Kitt ’82 were enormously helpful, not only with the ongoing education of our students in wines, but in the design and conceptual work with creating the new Taverna Banfi. John Mariani personally designed the restaurant logo. Rick remembers him faxing it to him from Italy on a Saturday morning.
The Importance of the Cornell Hotel Society
The Cornell Hotel Society is one of the greatest assets to the School of Hotel Administration. The success of the school can be attributed to the alumni’s continued involvement and enthusiasm for the school and its students. The school is fortunate to have such an engaged group of alumni committed and willing to hire students, lecture on campus, and serve on the many advisory boards and centers and institutes.
The Cornell Hotel Society keeps the Hotelie flame burning around the world. In its 55+ chapters, alumni gather not only for social events but for educational and service opportunities.
It was a pleasure for Rick to serve on the board of the Cornell Hotel Society and the Cornell Hotel Society Foundation. What a thrill it has been to see the commitment of so many hotel alumni who step up to leadership roles within CHS and the virtuous cycle that it creates.
One of the greatest gifts a hotel graduate receives is their lifelong affiliation with the Cornell Hotel Society, providing them with a unique set of friends and business colleagues. It is the “gift that keeps on giving,” a cradle to grave relationship with Cornell and the Hotel School. The bonds our alumni form at Cornell inevitably become among the longest and strongest and may well bring some of the most memorable experiences in our lives.
Rick and Mary Adie with first Statler Hotel GM Hans Weishaupt ’64 and wife, Arenda
Cannes CHS Meeting 2019
Life after Cornell
Rick retired from Cornell in August of 2018, and he and Mary relocated to the seacoast area of New Hampshire in 2019. For three years, Rick was a consultant for the Gingko College of Hospitality Management in Chengdu, China. During that time, he assisted programming for the development of the college’s teaching hotel, the Hotel Standard in Yibin, China. He has also been on the advisory board of Phil Miller and Associates executive search firm. Rick is a volunteer for St. Vincent de Paul food pantry and active in his church.
Rick Adie in front of the Statler Hotel – 2018
General Manager: A Noble Profession
In his Dean’s Distinguished Lecture speech, Ali Kasikci, legendary hotelier and CHS honorary member, spoke about hospitality operations being a noble profession. A general manager can make or break the success of an operation. HLDP students learn the importance of thinking like an owner and managing to the owners’ goals/needs.
From an old poem, “A Day in the Life of a Hotelier”: It’s a wonderful life, if you can take it. A hotelier must be a diplomat, a democrat, an autocrat, an acrobat, and a doormat. To be successful, he must keep the bar full, the wine cellar full, the storeroom full, the customers full and of course the house full… without being full of himself.
Words of Appreciation
The impact that Rick Adie has had on thousands of students and professional hotel employees, as well as the Ithaca community, is immeasurable. He has openly shared successes, keeps an open door to all and thrives on student interactions. His life’s work, many accolades and awards are a true testament to his hospitality spirit. We were fortunate to have this man of character at the head of Statler Hotel.
~Rebecca Rypkema, Statler Hotel colleague
There is no mentor, no advisor, and no leader better than Rick Adie. Rick turned the Statler Hotel from a hotel on campus to an industry leading laboratory fostering collaboration, innovation and education far beyond anyone’s expectations. I was able to learn side by side from Rick on how to be a leader who is not just running a hotel but who is caring for the people who bring the hotel to life. I am one of many industry leaders that credit Rick with so much of their success.
~Geoff Gray ‘08, former HLDP student. Managing Director, Author and Edit Hospitality
The Global Ambassador Hotel, Phoenix, AZ
Graduation 2008 with Geoff Gray
HLDP Statler General Manager
