Even at 18, Kathy Inkinen, now president and owner of Inkinen & Associates, an executive search firm, could recognize a great pipeline to a solid career.

That’s why Inkinen said she was among the first students who chose to enroll at what is now the University of Hawaii School of Travel Industry Management, or TIM School. Inkinen earned her degree in hotel management and tourism in 1967, just one year after the university’s TIM program was granted school status and Edward Barnet was named its first dean.

“I selected the school because even in those early days, the visitor industry was the leading industry,” Inkinen said. “I just thought that’s where the jobs are. Of course, I’m prejudiced, but I think I made an excellent choice.”

Inkinen will celebrate her educational decision and the TIM School’s 50th anniversary later this month. She is among the TIM School’s long list of distinguished alumni who hold key executive positions. In the last half-century, the TIM School has graduated some 4,500 degree holders and trained another 3,000 executives and professionals from around the world.

The school is the state’s only Carnegie Doctoral/Research University-Extensive program for tourism, hospitality and transportation. The school also was recently reaccredited for its Bachelor of Science degree by the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration.

“We are pleased to have met and exceeded the nationally recognized standards set by ACPHA, and we remain dedicated to preparing the next generation of hospitality and tourism professionals for Hawaii and beyond,” said Dean Thomas Bingham.

With the accreditation complete, Bingham said the TIM School is well positioned to continue building on the legacy of its first half-century.

The school’s history goes back to 1960 when Gov. William F. Quinn, who was president of the Pacific Asia Travel Association, successfully lobbied the group to select Hawaii as the site of the first hotel management degree program.

“Japan, Hong Kong and other countries said (they) can be the host, but the governor said, ‘I can get it done right away,’” said Chuck Gee, who joined the school as a visiting professor in 1967 and became its dean in 1976.

When it emerged, the TIM School carried a lot of clout in the Asia-Pacific area as one of the region’s first tourism and hospitality programs. And it still carries a lot of influence, said Timothy Rafael, who will graduate from the TIM School in May.

“I’m from a small island called Palau, close to Guam. The TIM School is very famous even back home,” said Rafael, who is president of the TIM Student Association. “Both of my parents work in the travel industry, and they were aware that it is a very recommended school. Hawaii is one of the most popular destinations in the world, so that makes it an ideal place to get a degree and pursue this career path.”

Gaining stature

It’s taken longer for the TIM School to gain recognition on the mainland because other schools like Cornell, Michigan State, the University of Denver and Florida State came before it. When Best Western CEO David Kong graduated in 1974, the school wasn’t well known outside of Hawaii or the West Coast.

“However, over time the school has become more known throughout the country,” said Kong, who hails from Hong Kong. “At industry events I often meet TIM alumni, and it is heartening to see that the school has been successful in cultivating wonderful talent for the industry.”

George D. Szigeti, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, said the TIM School has been invaluable to Hawaii tourism.

“Its value will only increase as our industry adapts to the evolving growth of global travel,” Szigeti said in a written statement. “Developing Hawaii’s tourism professionals of tomorrow is vital to our industry’s continued success and meeting visitors’ expectations.”

Right place, time

Gee said one of the reasons that the TIM School has been so successful is that its opening coincided with the emergence of jet travel, which transformed tourism from a cottage industry into a major force.

“The subject was so new, we didn’t even have textbooks,” Gee said. “We helped professionalize the industry. At the time, tourism wasn’t seen as a desirable or respectable field. Parents would cry if their children didn’t want to be a doctor or a lawyer or go into finance.”

The opening of China in 1975 also proved fortuitous for the TIM School, Gee said.

“The TIM School was the first and only school for a long time that was invited into China to talk about tourism. I happened to be a Chinese dean, which meant a lot to the Chinese who were very myopic. The Wall Street Journal and other global media picked up the story. Everyone was curious about a country that had been shut off from the rest of the world for 50 years,” Gee said.

In 1979 Gee introduced the Executive Development Institute for Tourism. The school’s international reputation drew senior managers from as far away as Egypt to participate in the annual six-week program. More than 500 managers from 50 countries have since graduated from the program.

In 1986 the school moved to its permanent home in UH’s George Hall, which was renovated with funds from the travel industry.

But the years haven’t always been easy. The TIM School separated from the College of Business Administration in 1991, gaining autonomy, students and prestige. But the school has had to vigorously defend its independence at least twice from those who felt it should fall under what is now the Shidler College of Business.

“When we were part of business, we got outvoted on everything,” Gee said. “If you aren’t autonomous, you can’t control the content.”

Bingham said autonomy remains important to the school as it moves beyond its first 50 years.

“We’ll need to be nimble to respond to the needs of an ever-changing tourism industry,” he said.

Best Western’s Kong said the TIM School will continue to play a crucial role in developing future leaders of the tourism and hospitality industry.

“Hawaii will always remain a major tourism destination. There will always be a need for qualified talent to help the industry prosper,” he said.

Future challenges

Bingham said the TIM School will have to step up enrollment to keep pace with industry growth.

“I was recently told by a hotel executive that he expects one-third of Hawaii’s tourism workforce will retire in the next five years,” Bingham said.

That’s different from in Gee’s day when enrollment topped 500 and he used to agonize about where all the students would go after graduation. Nowadays, Bingham said, the numbers are more like 370 undergraduates and 18 graduate students.

“We’ll work with the industry to grow enrollment,” he said. “Other schools will have to help, too. We can do it but we won’t do it alone.”

Joe Toy, who earned a master’s degree from the TIM School and is president and CEO of Hospitality Advisors LLC, said future demand will provide greater opportunity for the school and the industry to strengthen their relationship.

“The TIM School’s original foundation was as a research school, and at one time there was a direction to have a professional hotel school coming out of it. I thought it was a good direction, though it didn’t materialize,” Toy said. “Given that Hawaii is one of the top destinations in the world and the hotel industry represents about a third of the visitor industry’s total economic impact, I think there are more opportunities for alignment.”

Bingham said the industry and the school are connecting on many levels, including through student-run clubs.

“We have nine student-run organizations and clubs that have impressed me so much with their commitment to community service,” he said. “They are cultivating service-oriented skills, which will be very important for their future success.”

Gee said tourism graduates also will need to develop more sophisticated business skills than they once did.

“There was a time when you could build a hotel room for $40,000 and under. The Halekulani was over $1 million a unit, and now that’s not even the most expensive,” he said. “As you get into those figures, ask yourself, What kind of background does the manager have to have?”

Paths to growth

Bingham said there is big demand for revenue management. Skills from interlocking industries like real estate, retail, finance, food and beverage, agritourism, health tourism and assisted living also have become more relevant, Gee said. Even virtual reality and robotics could have a role to play, he said.

Kong said electronic distribution should also be an integral part of the program. To remain competitive, Kong said the TIM School must offer more business administration classes such as human resources, marketing, leadership, management, accounting/finance and business law.

Professors should have industry experience so students can learn the “real-life applications of what the textbooks teach,” he said. More industry leaders need to serve as guest lecturers to broaden student horizons. And while internships are beneficial, he’d like to see an on-campus hotel where the students can work.

TIM TIMELINE

1960

Hawaii Gov. William F. Quinn, who was also president of the Pacific Asia Travel Association, lobbies that trade group to select Hawaii as the site of its first hotel management degree program.

1964

Edward Barnet is appointed associate dean of the College of Business Administration and director of the hotel management and tourism program.

1966

The hotel management and tourism program is granted school status and is named the School of Travel Industry Management. The first Bachelor of Business Administration degrees with an emphasis in hotel management and tourism degrees are awarded.

1967

Barnet becomes the first TIM School dean. He is followed by Paul Broten in 1974, David Bess in 1975, Chuck Gee in 1976, Pauline Sheldon in 2000, Walter Jamieson in 2003, Juanita Liu in 2008 and Thomas Bingham in 2014.

1979

The Executive Development Institute for Tourism is established as a six-week program conducted annually for senior managers in the travel industry, and sponsored jointly by PATA and the TIM School.

1986

The TIM School moves into its permanent home in George Hall, which was renovated with funds from the travel industry. The Hawaii International Hotel Institute , a six-week summer program for midlevel travel industry managers, is established through an endowment from Beatrice W. Parrentcq.

1988

The Master of Professional Studies in travel industry management graduate program is launched.

1989

The Center for Tourism Policy Studies is established to address tourism development issues in Hawaii and the Asia-Pacific region.

1991

The TIM School is granted autonomy from the College of Business Administration. It changes its degree program to a Bachelor of Science. The World Tourism Organization designates the TIM School as an international tourism education and training center. The school earns its first national accreditation.

1999

The “First Celebrate a Legacy” fundraising event takes place. Ambassador L.W. “Bill” Lane Jr. and his wife, Jean, fund a lectureship in sustainable tourism and the environment.

2000

The TIM School is reaccredited.

2002

The e-TIM online distance-learning program is launched.

2003

The Chuck Yim Gee Technology Learning Center opens.

2008

The TIM School is reaccredited.

2012

The Leong Hop & Bernice C. Loui Computer Laboratory is rededicated.

2015

TIM School Dean Emeritus and UH regent Chuck Gee is inducted into the Pacific Asia Travel Association’s Gallery of Legends. The TIM International Inc. alumni association establishes the Elena L.H. Tom Scholarship Endowment Fund for her years of service as the TIM School’s secretary.

2016

The TIM School is reaccredited through 2022.