Michael Kasavana

Michael L. Kasavana, Ph.D., is the NAMA (National Automatic Merchandising Association) Endowed Professor in Hospitality Business in The School of Hospitality Business at Michigan State University. He is considered the School’s resident technology expert. Dr. Kasavana completed his undergraduate and graduate work at the University of Massachusetts—Amherst. He received a bachelor’s degree in hotel, restaurant, and travel administration; a master of business administration in finance; and a doctorate in management information systems. He has written several books, instructional software packages, and a host of research journal and trade industry magazine articles.

Dr. Kasavana’s teaching and research efforts have been sharply focused on IT applications for hotels, restaurants, casinos, and private membership clubs, with a special emphasis on self-service technology. He is an active consultant and a recipient of the MSU Distinguished Faculty Award, the MSU Teacher-Scholar Award, and the Eli Broad College of Business Withrow Teacher/Scholar Award. He has presented numerous seminars on a variety of topics in the United States, Canada, Rome, Hong Kong, and other areas of the world. Dr. Kasavana is a member of the International Technology Hall of Fame sponsored by Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) and a recipient of the Distinguished Achievements Award from the Food Service Technology Consortium (FS/TEC). He is credited with creating the terms “Menu Engineering” and “V-Commerce.”

In addition to his responsibilities at the MSU hospitality business school, Dr. Kasavana serves as the university’s Faculty Athletic Representative to the NCAA, Big Ten, and CCHA athletic conferences. He also chairs the MSU Athletic Council.