Richard Perdue, professor and head of the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech, was recently named the Robert B. Pamplin Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

Established in 2011, the Robert B. Pamplin Professorship in Hospitality and Tourism Management is one of several named professorships established with a portion of the $10 million endowment presented to the Pamplin College by Robert B. Pamplin, Sr. and Robert B. Pamplin, Jr. This professorship supports excellence in education in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management.

Perdue joined the Pamplin College of Business as professor and department head in 2005. He has achieved significant national and international recognition for his research. During his career, he has served as principal investigator on externally funded research projects totaling more than $1 million.

He has published 48 papers in his discipline’s major journals, two books, numerous book chapters, research monographs, and technical reports.

Perdue is a Fellow in the International Academy for the Study of Tourism and has served as the academy’s secretary, president, and board chair. He is active in the Travel and Tourism Research Association as a member of its board of directors, current vice president, and president-elect. He is a recipient of the association’s Charles R. Goeldner Article of Excellence Award.

As department head, Perdue teaches a wide range of courses in both undergraduate and graduate programs. He has supervised three doctoral dissertations, served on seven doctoral dissertation committees, and been an external examiner for doctoral students in Hong Kong and Australia. He is frequently asked to teach in tourism doctoral colloquia in the United States and abroad.

Perdue received his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from the University of Wyoming and a Ph.D. in recreation resource management from Texas A&M University.

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.

Share this story