September 13, 2016
Malek named trailblazer in the meetings industry
Kristin Malek, assistant professor in the hospitality management department, was named one of 2016's top 20 industry agents of change by Meetings Today. This nod celebrates her as the only trendsetter in an actual academic unit at a major university and notes her role as a preeminent educator in the meetings industry.
Malek's experience as a meeting planner in Las Vegas provides a depth to her instruction of students in the College of Human Ecology. In her classes, the emphasis is on an event industry that can be tamed and managed with the right educational background, which is why Malek is adamant that her students seek out hands-on experiences in planning and participate in all types of events.
Meetings Today is an internationally recognized website and publication that researches and accepts nominations of industry trendsetters each year. Malek was nominated partially due to her work experience in events and her industry involvement, and also as a result of her progressive teaching of event management in a university setting. Each year, Malek's event management students are required to get involved in the community, while her senior capstone class actually plans conferences and events.
Experience is key in the hospitality management industry and on the K-State campus alone. Malek's latest capstone class offered their expertise to plan and execute the 2016 Mid-America AIChE Conference hosted by the chemical engineering department in April. Malek and her senior event management students are poised to take on professional clients in the areas of major event planning and association conferences. Contact Malek at kristinmalek@k-state.edu for opportunities.