Hospitality Sweet: Hotel Ezra Cornell Celebrates a Century

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100 Years of Hospitality Education on the Hill: Fascinating Facts

From a servers’ race to invitations sent via pigeon, Nolan School students have showcased their talents to an evolving industry

By Joe Wilensky

On a warm Saturday morning in April, six apron-clad racers line up on Ho Plaza, each holding a tray bearing a single bowl of tomato soup. As the buzzing crowd anticipates the competition’s first heat, Jonathan Rosen ’29 goes over the rules.

“Carry the tray in the center, underhand, with one hand,” he says. “The goal is to run as fast but as safely as you can to the big cone and back—without spilling any of your soup. It’s okay if you have a few drops on the tray, but that bowl had better still be full by the time you get back!”

Rosen is the emcee of this year’s Server Derby, a recently revived tradition at Hotel Ezra Cornell (HEC)—the Nolan School’s annual three-day, student-run hospitality conference.

First held in 1926, HEC allows students to hone their leadership and hospitality skills as they showcase their talents to hundreds of guests, including alumni and other industry leaders.

Hotelies run every aspect of the weekend, from planning conference programming to checking in guests, turning down beds, preparing and serving meals, washing dishes, and cleaning up.

“HEC has touched every Hotel student in a lasting way, and its significance to the Nolan School cannot be overstated,” says Kathryn Poschmann ’26, who was in charge of documenting the event’s history during the 100th event in 2025. “It continues to be a cornerstone of the Hotelie experience.”

HEC traces its origin to 1925, when then-dean Howard Meek took a group of students downstate to manage NYC’s famed Hotel Astor for a day.

HEC has touched every Hotel student in a lasting way, and its significance to the Nolan School cannot be overstated. It continues to be a cornerstone of the Hotelie experience.

Kathryn Poschmann ’26

At the time, Cornell offered the nation’s only degree program in hospitality management—then housed in the Department of Home Economics, itself part of the College of Agriculture.

The students’ excitement about the Astor experience, along with a prof’s subsequent idea for them to run a “hotel for a day” on the Hill, led to the first HEC in May 1926.

That inaugural event welcomed 350 guests—hotel owners and operators from around the region—to Risley for an overnight stay, including an eight-course dinner and a grand ball.

“The Ambassador and the Roosevelt may be all right in their way, but the Ezra Cornell, operating on the first floor of Prudence Risley, was no mean hostelry,” the Alumni News reported.

“Rooms decorated with special lighting effects, a fountain in continuous operation, floodlights for the dancers, and batik draperies added to its grandeur. Even if it did business for only two days, it was superb while it lasted.”

The Ambassador and the Roosevelt may be all right in their way, but the Ezra Cornell, operating on the first floor of Prudence Risley, was no mean hostelry.

The Alumni News, 1926

HEC’s early years were crucial in giving students the opportunity to showcase their talents and training to the industry professionals who attended—which in turn proved the value of what was then a unique academic program.

Prominent hotelier E.M. Statler, a guest at one of the first HECs, had initially been skeptical of hospitality education.

But he was won over by the student staff—famously declaring, “I’m converted. Meek can have any damn thing he wants.”

He became a major benefactor, and his widow, Alice Statler, continued the family’s largesse after his death.

HEC’s early years were crucial in giving students the opportunity to showcase their talents and training to the industry professionals who attended—which in turn proved the value of what was then a unique academic program.

Over the decades, HEC grew to a three-day event—moving to the Straight and then to the Statler Inn when it opened in 1950.

Now, the event boasts hundreds of guests from around the world for lectures, receptions, networking, professional development, gala dinners, and more.

“While the industry constantly evolves, our foundation remains unshakable, and the students are adapting to the times,” says Alex Koch ’04, president of the Cornell Hotel Society, the school’s alumni association.

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Koch calls the 2026 event—the 101st HEC, including two held virtually due to COVID—a “masterclass in execution and care.”

Each year, HEC has a theme, often invoking travel and adventure. In 1959, it was nautical—with a ballroom decorated with illuminated portholes, underwater flowers, and a moving octopus hung from the ceiling.

While the industry constantly evolves, our foundation remains unshakable, and the students are adapting to the times.

Alex Koch ’04

In 1985—one of the years when HEC had to find alternate venues during the transition to the modern Statler Hotel—Barton Hall was styled to resemble a Buckingham Palace ballroom.

(The theme, “Diamond Jubilee,” included a staged jewel heist, with events offering clues to solve the case—and an actual diamond as the grand prize.)

Particularly in the event’s early decades, organizers came up with creative ways to invite guests.

For the 10th HEC in 1935, for example, six trained pigeons were released on the Hill, each carrying a personal invite for an NYC hotelier; aided by a tail wind, they arrived ahead of schedule.

For the 10th HEC in 1935, six trained pigeons were released on the Hill, each carrying a personal invite for an NYC hotelier; aided by a tail wind, they arrived ahead of schedule.

In 1965, to mark the University’s centennial, elaborate invitations were printed on parchment, styled to evoke the Declaration of Independence. Four years later, invites took the form of labels affixed to miniature bottles of sparkling wine.

HEC has also included various kickoff events over the years, including a bike race from Syracuse to Ithaca and a cake-baking contest between Hotelies and Home Economics students.

Distinguished guests, speakers, and honorees have included First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt; hoteliers Conrad Hilton, Howard Johnson, and J. Willard Marriott Jr.; interior designer Dorothy Draper; cookie entrepreneur Wally “Famous” Amos; and even Colonel Harland Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame.

In 1998—the Hotel School’s 75th anniversary—the New York Times covered the weekend in a feature story headlined, “Their Test: Creme Brulee for 350.”

In 1998—the Hotel School’s 75th anniversary—the New York Times covered the weekend in a feature story headlined, “Their Test: Creme Brulee for 350.”

HEC, the Times observed, is “run entirely by students, who park cars, check guests in, and deliver room service. And if the service is a tad rockier than at a top hotel—one guest entered his assigned room to find a very startled occupant already there—it is also quicker and far friendlier, and the apologies more profuse.”

Like the hospitality industry itself, the conference’s scope and content have evolved since its inception.

In the past couple of decades, it has focused more on sustainability, technology, and startups—with an annual business plan competition emerging as a highlight.

“HEC connects generations of Hotelies, who come together as a community each year to achieve the common goal of showcasing the talents of students currently enrolled at the school,” says Andrew Karolyi, dean of the SC Johnson College of Business.

In the past couple of decades, the conference has focused more on sustainability, technology, and startups—with an annual business plan competition emerging as a highlight.

Each year, Karolyi himself takes part in the Server Derby, which he lauds as “an incredible tradition—a Cornellian tradition—and it makes you feel really special to be part of the history.”

Originally called the Waiters’ Derby (and mainly comprising male students), the race is a takeoff on an iconic Parisian event, La Course des Garçons de Café.

It was a fixture of HEC in its early decades, and has returned in recent years in gender-neutral form.

“It’s all in the first few steps to figure out the weight of the bowl and how fast you can go from there,” observes 2026 competitor Jason Orenstein ’27. “Then it’s just about trying to take that turn quickly—and don’t drop the soup.”

Top: Student chefs at work in 2009. (All images courtesy of Nolan School archives and Rare and Manuscript Collections or by Cornell University photographers, unless otherwise indicated.)

Published April 22, 2026

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