��ǰ���seven consecutive years, the��Rosen College of Hospitality Management�������԰����No. 1 in the nation��for Hospitality and Tourism Management Programs, according to��ShanghaiRanking’s 2026 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects.

“The ranking recognizes what Rosen College has accomplished over the past two decades,” Rosen College Dean Cynthia Mejia says. “What excites me most is how we build on that foundation. Our goal is to influence the future of hospitality through the students we educate, the research we produce, the partnerships we create and the solutions we help develop for the industry’s most important challenges.”

Additionally, �鶹ӳ����ý ranks��No. 2 in the nation��for Transportation Science and Technology — and in the top 10 for the seventh year in a row. The recognition reflects the breadth of research underway across �鶹ӳ����ý to develop solutions and advancements for the future of the transportation industry while improving safety and mobility on the nation’s most critical and busiest roadways.

“I am happy that our hard work and expanding our transportation faculty have paid off in this continuous recognition,” �鶹ӳ����ý Pegasus Professor Mohamed Abdel-Aty says. “We have opened new fronts in transportation systems, technology and ideas looking to the future. We balance traditional transportation research with cutting-edge and high-impact new directions.”

The rankings represent significant industries that drive international economies with travel and tourism contributing to a global GDP (gross domestic product) of $11.6 trillion and supporting about one in every nine jobs around the world, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council’s 2025 report.

The ShanghaiRanking Global Ranking of Academic Subjects evaluates universities by academic discipline using research-focused indicators, these include measures related to research output, research quality, international collaboration and academic influence.

A Global Leader in Hospitality and Tourism Research

Located in the nation’s top tourism destination, Rosen College students, faculty and staff are embedded in industry, allowing them to directly explore emerging areas in the field.

“This ranking reflects the depth, quality and consistency of the research being produced by our faculty,” Manuel Rivera, associate dean of research at Rosen College says. “To be recognized once again among the world’s leading hospitality and tourism programs is a testament to the collective efforts of our faculty, students, alumni and industry partners. The ranking recognizes the foundation Rosen College has built over the past two decades. Building on that foundation, Rosen College is helping shape the future of hospitality through impactful research, innovation, industry partnerships and the development of future leaders.”

Faculty research spans areas including tourism, lodging, events, food service, consumer behavior, technology, and the management of destinations and hospitality organizations, including:

• HFTP Professor of Hospitality Financial Management and Technology Mehmet Altin’s study on entrepreneurial ecosystems in hospitality and tourism with a comparative analysis across economic contexts, which was published in Tourism Economics.
• Associate Professor Yun Ying Zhong, a research faculty member of �鶹ӳ����ý’s Disability, Aging and Technology faculty cluster initiative, completed a systematic review of 30-year research on hospitality in healthcare, which was published in the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
• Assistant Professor Frank Badu-Baiden’s study of the factors influencing consumers’ acceptance of drone food delivery, including the role of usefulness, emotions and perceived risk, which was published in the International Journal of Hospitality Management.

The No. 1 ShanghaiRanking placement builds on Rosen College’s continued excellence in curriculum, research and workforce impact as Universal Destinations & Experiences (UDX) joined �鶹ӳ����ý as a Pegasus Partner in June to establish the Universal School of Experience Leadership & Innovation. Through this partnership, �鶹ӳ����ý and UDX will further explore:

• Service robotics and human-centered approaches to shape guest and employee interactions

• AR and VR simulation technologies for training, operations, and immersive environments
• AI and digital twins for optimizing and personalizing the guest experience

Advancing Transportation Safety and Technology

With more than 23.4 million residents in 2025, Florida is the nation’s third most populated state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In the same year, the Sunshine State welcomed 143.3 million visitors��as America’s No. 1 domestic travel destination, according to Visit Florida.

As residents and tourists navigate around the state, �鶹ӳ����ý researchers are working to improve transportation challenges related to roadway safety, emerging mobility technologies and other areas.

Abdel-Aty and Associate Professor Shaurya Agarwal lead multiple projects funded by U.S. and Florida Departments of Transportation to develop safety plans and demonstrate technologies across various Florida counties.

One examines Florida’s Regional Advanced Mobility Elements, or IFRAME, project along Interstate 4 between Orlando and Tampa. The study is evaluating the performance of advanced transportation technologies to inform decisions about future investments to enhance safety and mobility.

Research Assistant Professor Zubayer Islam and Abdel-Aty’s Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) project — the first of its kind in the Southeast — evaluates the effectiveness and enhancements of the agency’s Flex Lanes Program on sections of its expressway. It is the latest development in �鶹ӳ����ý’s longstanding partnership with the CFX.

For nearly 14 years, �鶹ӳ����ý has worked to make highways safer by tackling wrong-way driving, one of the nation’s deadliest roadway hazards. An international expert in transportation engineering, planning and operations, Professor Haitham Al-Deek, in partnership with CFX, designed, implemented and evaluated wrong-way driving and prevention system technology to detect and deter wrong-way driving on high-speed roads. Deployed across the CFX system, it has achieved an 88.5% driver self-correction rate, the highest known worldwide, which is well supported by the largest amount of data collected on the performance of the invented technology.

Al-Deek and his students also invented the nation’s first algorithm to help transportation agencies identify wrong-way driving hotspots and prioritize improvements for greatest safety impact with maximum economic efficiency. Through competitively won contracts at state and national levels, this algorithm was implemented for five transportation networks throughout Florida and Idaho.

“According to the data we collected, the deployed lifesaving technology on CFX transportation network helped 2,541 out of the detected 2,870 wrong-way drivers self-correct and turn around safely as of June 2026,” Al-Deek says.

Research That Translates to Daily Impact

�鶹ӳ����ý’s performance in transportation science and technology and hospitality and tourism management reflects two distinct research strengths while also demonstrating how the university is improve daily life across the region, state and nation. The 2026 ShanghaiRanking Global Ranking of Academic Subjects also show �鶹ӳ����ý is making an impact in Public Administration as the No. 11 program in the nation and Law as the No. 25 program across the U.S.

The Induction Ceremony,��hosted by faculty advisers Dr. Kevin Murphy and Dr. Po-Ju Chen, as well as chapter president Natalie Sixto, and chapter vice president Bethany Chester, was highlighted by keynote speaker Rick Spencer, creative manager & show development for Universal Orlando Resort.

As members of Eta Sigma Delta, students distinguish themselves in the eyes of educators, recruiters and industry executives. In addition, the honor society provides a networking system that allows for interaction and the exchange of information among students.

Members of the prestigious honor society also gain access to special functions at annual trade shows.

To be invited into Eta Sigma Delta, students must be a Hospitality Management major or studying a related field, with a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative grade point average.

For more information on Eta Sigma Delta and the benefits of the organization, please visit��www.chrie.org.

Students worked together in teams of four to prepare and serve an appetizer, entrée, and dessert to a panel of judges, who graded each team’s meal based on five categories, including presentation; portion size & nutritional balance; menu & ingredient compatibility; creativity; and taste, flavor, texture & doneness.

“The exciting part of these practicums for both instructors and students is to realize how far they have come in just a semester,” said Dr. Kevin Murphy, one of the seven faculty members teaching Techniques of Food Production this term. “Most students could not cook or handle a knife at the beginning of the semester and now they can prepare restaurant-quality food.”

Students dished out everything from apple walnut salad and pasta fazool to beef tenderloin and roasted red pepper & chicken pizza to chocolate covered lamingtons and rum raisin bread pudding.

“At the beginning of the semester, students are usually hesitant about taking the class because they have never really cooked before,” said chef instructor Katherine Wilson. “But by the time the practicum rolls around, students are excited and proud to share what they have learned.”

�鶹ӳ����ý’s Rosen College hosted 18 lab practicums this semester, with each one crowning a winning team.

The lab practicum was initiated nearly 30 years ago by the college’s first-ever faculty member, the late Robert Ashley. Professor Ashley tragically passed away this semester at the age of 65.

On Nov. 17, the society held its largest ceremony in ESD history, inducting 138 new students.

Chapter President Jaclyn Carlisto-Harris, Vice Presidents Pamela Cutler and Aline Fenelon, and faculty advisors, Drs. Po-Ju Chen and Kevin Murphy presided. The evening’s keynote speaker was Vice President and Managing Director of the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, Mr. Paul Tang.

ESD members are committed to fostering the growth of knowledge and promoting the advancement of the hospitality and tourism industries. At the ceremony, inductees pledged to uphold the high standards of scholastic and professional achievements established by ESD.

For more information on Eta Sigma Delta’s founding council, ICHRIE, and the benefits of the organization, please visit www.chrie.org.

Drs. Po-Ju Chen, Robertico Croes and Kevin Murphy set the wheels in motion when they presented a paper at the University of Costa Rica’s International Symposium on Tourism, held Nov. 21-23, 2011. The work was entitled “Agriculture and Tourism – A Slow Food Model to Promote Sustainable Local Agriculture Products to Help the Poor in Latin America through Tourism.”

As a result of the paper, the Rosen College’s Dick Pope Institute for Tourism Studies has entered into a letter of intent with the University of Costa Rica’s (UCR’s) Tourism School to cooperate on a grant to fund a study.��The research will focus on the promotion of sustainable local agriculture products to help the poor in Latin America through tourism.

UCR and �鶹ӳ����ý have a university-wide agreement to exchange research, teaching and cooperation. Currently, Rosen College is assisting UCR with their graduate curriculum development. Drs. Chen, Croes and Murphy have met with the following UCR representatives to discuss the project: Director of UCR Pacific Campus, Dr. Susan Chen Mok; Director of the Tourism College, Jorge Bartels Villanueva; and Director of the Tourism Graduate Program, Oriester Abarca Hernandez.

According to the Slow Food USA website, “Slow Food is an idea, a way of living and a way of eating. It is part of a global, grassroots movement with thousands of members in over 150 countries, which links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment.”�� For more, please visit .

�鶹ӳ����ý researchers in the areas of hospitality management, economics, sociology and civil/environmental engineering connected and were encouraged to collaborate on new research initiatives.

The luncheon promoted faculty scholarship while ideas of mutual interest that could lead to the development of competitive research proposals were discussed.

Rosen College faculty in attendance included: Dr. Po-Ju Chen; Dr. Robertico Croes; Dr. Duncan Dickson; Mr. Ron Logan; Dr. Kevin Murphy; Dr. Kal Nusair; Dr. Fevzi Okumus; Dr. H.G. Parsa; Dr. Manuel Rivera; Dr. Cheyenne Ro; Dr. Paul Rompf; Dr. Dipendra Singh and Mr. Scott Smith.

In addition to Rosen College faculty, other researchers included: Dr. Sarah Barber, Anthropology Department; Dr. James Wright, Sociology Department; Dr. Dingbao Wang, Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering Department; Dr. David M. Nickerson, Statistics Department; Dr. Jose Maunez-Cuadra, Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies; Dr. Tom O’Neal, ORC; Dr. Amit Joshi, Marketing Department; Dr. Patrick Bohlen, Biology Department.

The purpose of the ORC is to foster new research activities among �鶹ӳ����ý faculty. For more, please . The DPI is dedicated to increasing the benefits of tourism through research, public awareness and education. For more information, please visit the or e-mail dpi@ucf.edu.

Membership to this prestigious society is by invitation only and students must be Hospitality Management majors with a 3.0 GPA standing while in their junior year.

The Rosen College ESD Honor Society is pleased to be the largest chapter within the organization. ESD faculty advisors include Dr. Kevin Murphy (the founder of the chapter) and Dr. Po-Ju Chen.