Skip to main content

Ki-Joon Back Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Studies, Moores Chair Professor

Education
B.S., M.S. in Hotel Administration, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Ph.D. in Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management, The Pennsylvania State University.

Expertise & Research Interests

  • Brand Image of Hotel, Restaurant, Convention and Casino Industry
  • Customer Satisfaction
  • Gambling Impact and Attitude Studies

Career Highlights
Co-guest editor of Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing–Gambling Issue and Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes–Gambling Themes; three-time recipient of the International Council on Hotel and Restaurant and Institutional Education's Best Paper Awards; recipient of 13 other research and teaching awards, including the Stephen Rushmore HVS Faculty Research Award, Penn State's Emerging Professional Award, Martin Opperman Memorial Award and Marvel Maunder Young Educator Award; industry experience in casino marketing, food & beverage and rooms in the hospitality industry in Las Vegas, Hong Kong, Perth, and Seoul; taught at The Pennsylvania State University and Kansas State University before joining Hilton College as Graduate Program director and associate professor in 2006; presented marketing and gambling courses and seminars around the world and published more than 90 papers in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters and conference proceedings; serves as an editorial board member and a reviewer for a number of academic journals, such as the Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, the Gaming Research & Review Journal, Tourism Management, Cornell H.R.A. Quarterly, the Journal of Service Industries, the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research and the International Journal of Hospitality Management; serves as U.S. representative for the Asian Pacific Tourism Association and is an advisory board member for the Korea Prevention and Care Center for Gambling Addiction.