Lorie Tuma, Ed.D., Associate Professor

Phone: (989) 506-3805
Email: [email protected]

Teaching Areas:

HTM 101 - Intro to the Hospitality and Tourism Industry 

HTM 117 - Customer Satisfaction in the Hospitality Industry

HTM 202 - International Tourism 

HTM 402 - Tourism Policy

HTM 440 - Advanced Meeting and Event Management

Experience:

Dr. Tuma joined Grand Valley State University (GVSU) in 2014 as a tenure-track, assistant professor after serving as a faculty member at the University of Alabama and Central Michigan University. In 2021, she earned tenure and was promoted to Associate Professor. She currently teaches remotely [online] from the Greater Tampa Bay area.

Dr. Tuma’s career in hospitality and tourism management began with Pan American World Airways as an international flight attendant. Her practical experience in event management and special event programming evolved as a multiple franchisee for Carlson Companies. She coordinated events for the State of Michigan Gubernatorial campaign and developed a global event management curriculum for Meeting Professionals International (MPI). Dr. Tuma taught event management in the Middle East (Qatar) for three consecutive years and helped the nation state prepare for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Tuma founded two MPI student clubs at Central Michigan University and The University of Alabama. She also co-founded the Beyond Hands On program that provides students with community-based learning experiences at large scale venues such as the Country Music Association, Boston Marathon and The Super Bowl. Students in this program have also worked directly with The Food Network, Carnival Cruise Lines, and multiple film festivals nationwide.

Dr. Tuma created the first-ever study abroad program for event management students at the Cannes International Film Festival. To date, she has taken 121 students over 10 years to the Cannes Film Festival in south France and coached them as they coordinated events for A-List celebrities in The American Pavilion, and various other venues within the city of Cannes.

In 2017, Tuma conducted a research study on the development of a tourism curriculum that included components of social media and shared the results before The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Murcia, Spain. The following year, (2018), she served as a Visiting Scholar at Vancouver Island University (VIU) and team-taught SLM 602: Case Studies in Sustainability and Innovation, a graduate course in the MA in Sustainable and Leisure Management program. She also delivered a public lecture as part of the World VIU Points Speaker Series hosted by the World Leisure Centre of Excellence at VIU.

In 2020 [and during the pandemic], Dr. Tuma traveled to Florida to care for aging parents and started focusing on outdoor recreation for women. During the lockdown, she earned an online teaching certificate from Harvard University, a teaching certificate for the Sustainable Development Goals from Columbia University Teacher’s College, and completed online courses in coastal and water navigation. As the restrictions lifted, she coordinated local jet ski riding events for women, and in May 2022, she was appointed as the first woman in the nation to receive an administrator status for a large jet ski riding organization.

Tuma joined a team of seven (7) male counterparts that promoted safe and responsible jet ski riding, while welcoming diversity among members of high character nationwide. She is a guest author for Pro-Rider Magazine, the host of the podcast "Which Way to the Beach", and she continues to serve a leader for women that want to learn more about riding responsibly in rivers, lakes, and oceans nationwide.

Education:

A.A., Mid-Michigan Community College

B.S., Central Michigan University

M.S.A., Central Michigan University

Ed.D., Walden University

Certifications: 

Certified Parks and Recreation Professional | National Association of Parks and Recreation 

Online & Hybrid Classroom Teaching Certificate | Harvard Business School

Teaching the Sustainable Development Goals | Columbia University Teacher’s College

Participant Based Learning | Harvard Business School

Case Method Discussion | Harvard Business School

Scholarship and Service:

Dr. Tuma’s research and case studies focus on the correlation between social media and sense of community, case method teaching, the development of international learning experiences, and community-based learning.

Dr. Tuma studied participant-based learning and case-method discussion at Harvard Business School and is the co-editor of The Source: A Guide to Academic Journals in Hospitality, Leisure, Tourism & Travel. She has published nationally and presented internationally while receiving the Walden University Research Dissemination Award two years consecutively for her work on social change.