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Faculty

When instructing about an industry as diverse as hospitality, it’s of the utmost importance to have a faculty that’s equally varied in their experience.

The USF hospitality program is led by a team comprised of professionals including an executive chef, PhD in leadership philosophy, as well as hotel business executives and sustainability experts.

Each faculty member has a minimum of 15 years of industry experience. Our faculty brings professions to life with practical application. Class assignments reflect actual projects from professors’ career experience, and range from crafting a signature cocktail to designing new hotel concepts.

Full-Time Faculty


Michelle Millar

Department Chair
(415) 422-2498

Michelle Millar studies consumer behavior in relation to sustainable practices in the lodging, meeting, and event management industries, more specifically the demand for those practices and the understanding of what sustainable practices mean to clients. Millar studies the choices travelers make when choosing environmentally friendly travel products, how sustainability may affect their decision making, and what factors are most important to them when it comes to sustainable hospitality products...

Education:

PhD, Hospitality Administration, University of Nevada, NV, 2009, MA, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, 2003, BA, University of California, Davis

Expertise:

Sustainability in the hospitality and tourism industries

Jean-Marc Fullsack

Executive Chef / Instructor
(415) 422-6577

Jean-Marc Fullsack, Executive Chef and Instructor in the Hospitality Management Program, was born in France where he trained in classical French cuisine and graduated from the Hotel and Restaurant School, Ecole Hôtelière, in Strasbourg. While Chef Fullsack worked in first-class restaurants, hotels, private clubs, and in food service management, one of the highlights in his culinary career was preparing dinner for President Bill Clinton and his family at the White House. Chef Fullsack’s...

Education:

CAP, Ecole Hôtelière de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France, 1972

Thomas Maier

Associate Professor
(415) 422-4170

Associate Professor Thomas Maier brings to USF more than 20 years of industry experience, a wealth of current research, and a honed experiential teaching methodology. Prior to academia, Professor Maier was a senior level executive in the hotel, restaurant, and food and beverage industries. His research interests include generational leadership, revenue management theory, and experiential learning. In the classroom, Professor Maier centers his pedagogy on experiential learning and visible...

Education:

Gonzaga University, Ph.D in Leadership Philosophy, 2008, Salve Regina University, MA in Human Development/International Relations, 2004, Rochester Institute of Technology, BS in Hotel and Tourist Enterprises, 1984

Expertise:

Hotel and Restaurant Operations, Design Thinking, Revenue Management

Part-Time Faculty


Kathy Odsather

Associate Director / Adjunct Professor
(415) 422-6721

Kathy “KO” Odsather, MS, CHA, Associate Director, Department of Hospitality Management, University of San Francisco. Born and raised in Alaska, KO earned her undergraduate business degree in Hotel & Restaurant Administration from Washington State University, then embarked on a successful career in hotel general management in San Francisco managing corporate hotels, boutique hotels and Bed & Breakfast Inns. In her equally long career in hospitality business education, she oversees the...

Education:

MS, Organization Development, University of San Francisco, BA, Hotel & Restaurant Administration, Washington State University

Expertise:

Hotel general management, Hospitality business education

Contact Info

Admission: Undergraduate

Monday–Friday 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. and Saturdays by appointment

University of San Francisco
Main Campus
Lone Mountain, Second Floor
2130 Fulton Street
San Francisco, CA 94117 (415) 422-6563