Hospitality scholar Dipra Jha earns international education award | WSU Insider

Carson College of Business Associate Professor Dipra Jha recently earned the 2025 Raphael Kavanaugh Champion of Education award from the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (ICHRIE).

ICHRIE is a global, multi-cultural community of hospitality and tourism professionals.

The award honors Jha’s exceptional commitment to hospitality and tourism education for students and industry members. It also recognizes his support for special initiatives that advance the mission of ICHRIE, which is to share knowledge and experiences relevant to the hospitality and tourism industry and its future leaders.

“I’m honored to be recognized by ICHRIE for my efforts to advance the hospitality and tourism industry by delivering high-quality teaching and learning to students around the globe,” Jha said.

Expertise benefits the hospitality and tourism industry

Jha is known as an expert in luxury hospitality and tourism strategy, and he frequently collaborates with communities, government entities, and private sector organizations in the U.S. and overseas on training, research, and outreach projects. He serves on the Board of Directors for the State of Washington Tourism organization.

“Professor Jha’s passion for the industry is evident in his work with destination marketing and management organizations and other tourism-related entities worldwide. As a board member, he has provided expertise on committees such as the Rural Tourism Support Grants Committee and the State Tourism Conference Planning Committee,” said nominator David Blandford, CEO for State of Washington Tourism. “He has advised my team on webinar content and led panel discussions on workforce issues.”

In May, Jha was invited by Columbia Hospitality to deliver a keynote at their leadership summit in Walla Walla, Washington. One of the leading hospitality solutions providers and management companies, Columbia Hospitality manages hotels and resorts, restaurants and bars, residential communities, golf courses, wineries, and spas. He has previously delivered professional development programs for the Club Management Association of America – Oregon Chapter, underscoring his reputation within the business and industry sectors in the Pacific Northwest.

A champion of hospitality education

Jha’s nominators say he is a compassionate educator who innovatively infuses industry experience into his teaching methods and has pioneered distance learning to advance tourism and hospitality education worldwide.

Jha developed a globally networked classroom model for Hospitality Systems, a WSU business class available to students in Ukraine and elsewhere, allowing them to join synchronously. Student cohorts engage in peer-to-peer interactions and work on case studies to develop global competencies, including intercultural communication and critical thinking.

“As war rages on in our country, and the educational process is disrupted by air raid sirens and sheltering in bunkers due to impending missile attacks, these virtual classes have become a safe space for our students where they can communicate with their peers and still feel like being at university,” said nominator Maksym Karpash, King Danylo University vice-rector for international affairs and strategic development. “Collaborative learning teaches young people to respect others and celebrate what is common. This would not have happened without Professor Jha’s dedication. Through education, he is creating hope for a better future.”

Jha also has significant experience developing and leading study abroad programs. In 2022, he created a very popular undergraduate study abroad program in Dubai. His teaching spans undergraduate and graduate hospitality and international business courses, and he leads WSU MBA students on study abroad programs.

In the Carson College, Jha has faculty appointments in the hospitality and marketing and international business departments and serves as the associate dean for access and opportunity-pedagogy. His global engagement efforts earned him three honorary doctoral degrees conferred by universities in Ukraine for his outstanding contributions to transnational teaching and learning through virtual exchange.

Jha has earned several other recent awards recognizing his teaching and leadership, including the WSU President’s Award for Leadership and the International Hospitality Institute’s 100 Most Influential People in U.S. Hospitality and Travel. He was also selected for the Fulbright Specialist program and completed a Fulbright Specialist assignment in Vietnam in 2024.