EFTI Welcomes New Director: Dr. Rachel J.C. Fu

The Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute welcomes exciting leadership changes this Summer. Dr. Rachel J.C. Fu assumes the role of Director of EFTI, as well as Chair of the Department of Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management at the University of Florida.

Read the announcement here. Read a Q&A with Dr. Rachel Fu here.

Dr. Fu comes from the University of Tennessee with extensive research and teaching experience, including more than 176 publications and projects with industry and government sponsors such as U.S. National Park Service, Appalachian Regional Commission, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, Dollywood, etc.  

Read Dr. Rachel Fu Director’s Welcome Letter:

Dear Friends, 
Welcome to the UF’s Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute (EFTI)!

Funded and established in 1992 as the first endowed tourism institute at the University of Florida, EFTI aims to lead visionary research and provide insight nationally and globally. EFTI’s missions are to connect with talented industry leaders in the state of Florida and beyond, advance cutting-edge research, create meaningful engagement opportunities, and support higher education. 

I am extremely excited to lead our premier EFTI that is housed within the Department of Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management (THEM) in the College of Health and Human Performance. 

Our top five priorities include:

[I] Strategizing Recruitment: We will be recruiting and retaining undergraduate students, graduate students, talented faculty/staff members, and active board members through meaningful interactions and enrichment opportunities.

[II] Continuing Philanthropy and Expanding Philanthropic Connections: Because of our faithful donors’ generosity, a variety of scholarships and endowments have been and will be established for generations to come.

[III] Expanding Partnership Through Establishing Trust Between Industries and Scholars: We will engage active listening integrated with useful research skills and effective communications in order to strengthen deeper and broader partnerships.

[IV] Creating Meaningful Community Engagement: Along with EFTI board members' connections and advice, I will lead both EFTI/THEM to reach out to needed communities to provide usable support while students are gaining career and professional opportunities as our main goal.

[V] Advancing Meaningful and Practical Research:  All concurrent research projects will be practically related to timely issues (e.g., surviving and striving through COVID-19, hurricanes, and intervention events), planning (e.g., revenue management, economic impacts, and forecasting), and the needs of future trends and talents (e.g., AI and data science). 

On behalf of our students and teams, thank you very much for your support, your connections, and your devotion to our higher education that is preparing future leaders. 

It is my great honor to work with and for you all in the fruitful years ahead. 

Please stay safe and stay well. 

Go Gators, 

Rachel 

Rachel J.C. Fu, PHD, CHE
Director, the Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute (EFTI)