Family, friends and colleagues are mourning the loss of Tom Powers, a retired professor  in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, who passed away on Jan. 11.

He received a BA from Harvard College, an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a PhD in business from Georgia State University.

From 1979 to 1987, Powers served as director of the School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management at U of G, where he launched a program that provided financial assistance to graduate students pursuing an education in hospitality.

“Tom’s contributions to the school were enormous,” says Julia Christensen Hughes, dean of the College of Business and Economics, “most notably the development of executive programs for the hospitality industry and the launch of an initiative that supported young faculty obtaining their PhDs. I was one of the beneficiaries of that program. In fact, Tom hired me into my first faculty position at U of G, and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity he gave me.”

A funeral service for Powers will be held at the Basilica of Our Lady on Jan. 17 at 10 a.m. A full obituary can be viewed on the Gilbert MacIntyre & Son Funeral Homes website.