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Chair & Professor of Department of Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management | Director of the Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute, University of Florida

Dr. Rachel J.C. Fu has many years of experience in the tourism and hospitality business. Rachel is the Chair and Professor of the Department of Tourism, Hospitality, and Event Management (THEM) at the University of Florida (UF), where she is also the Director of the Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute (EFTI). Rachel is an affiliate Professor in the Department of Information Systems and Operations Management (ISOM) at the Warrington College of Business. Rachel spearheaded the creation of AI/Data Science tracks in THEM undergraduate and graduate certificate programs at UF. In the past decade, through serving as guest editor, associate editor, editorial board member (for 14 leading and well-respected international journals), reviewer (for 9 leading international journals), and chair/reviewer (for 4 major international associations), Rachel has provided leadership in academic and professional organizations. Rachel has published more than 200 papers, including refereed journal articles, refereed conference papers, a magazine article, newsletters, technical reports, and book chapters. Rachel's work has been featured in various media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, Condé Nast Traveler, Carnival Cruise Line, NBC, BBC, Bottom Line Personal, CNBC, ABC News, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Popular Science, AARC, KCBS, Recommend Magazine, U.S. News and World Report and UF News.

Experience

  • –present
    Chair & Professor of Dept. of Tourism, Hospitality and Event | Director of the Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute at the University of Florida, University of Florida

Education

  • 2000 
    North Carolina State University, PhD/Forecasting and Economic Impacts