Dick
Pope Institute History
The Dick Pope Sr.
Institute for Tourism Studies was established in September 1979
in the College of Business Administration of the University
of Central Florida, through a $25,000 donation by the Orange
Blossom Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association.
The funds for this donation were collected at an annual Roast
and Toast of the Association, which honored the late Dick Pope
Sr., then the owner of Cypress Gardens and the first commercial
tourist entrepreneur in Florida.
The
Institute operates with the following positions:
• Director
(Dr. Abraham Pizam) , dean of the Rosen College of Hospitality
Management
• Associate
Director Dr. Robertico Croes, applied economist, international
political scientist and associate professor
• Full-time Senior
Research Fellow Dr. Tadayuki Hara, associate
professor and interim associate dean
• Rosen College
of Hospitality Management faculty affiliated with
the Institute on an ad-hoc basis, according to research interests and
expertise
• Graduate
research assistants
The
Institute's mission is to improve the quality of the tourism
product and increase the benefits of the tourism industry
to the State of Florida, and the local Central Florida
community.
From its inception, the Institute adopted three major objectives:
Research Public
Awareness Education Pricing
Conference Photos Conference
Registration
For More
Information Please Contact: Robertico
Croes, Ph.D.
Phone #: (407) 903-8028
Email Address: rcroes@mail.ucf.edu
