The William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) recently appointed Tyra Hilliard as associate professor of meetings and conventions.

Hilliard joins UNLV's faculty with more than fifteen years in the hospitality and tourism industry. She has been engaged in teaching and training in the area of meetings and conventions for over ten years.

“We are thrilled to have Tyra Hilliard join our team,” said Patti Shock, professor and chair of UNLV’s Hotel College’s Tourism and Convention Administration department. “Her expertise and experience in hospitality and tourism are exceptional and I am sure she will quickly prove to be an invaluable asset to our college.”

Prior to joining UNLV, Hilliard was the assistant professor of tourism and hospitality management at The George Washington University where she was responsible for teaching on-campus and online graduate and undergraduate courses including conference and expositions, convention and meeting management, event management and risk management for events and meetings. She also was the advisor for 40 event and meeting management concentration graduate students.

Also, while at The George Washington University, Hilliard was the executive director of the International Institute of Tourism Studies, managing the chartered research institute housed in the department of tourism and hospitality management. She supervised three to six staff and managed a $1.2 million annual budget.

In addition, Hilliard is the chair of the Convention Industry Council's APEX Contracts Panel and was recently appointed chair of the Professional Convention Management Association Council on Education. She was named one of the 25 most influential people in the meeting industry according to Meeting News in 2004.

Tyra Hilliard earned a B.A. in business administration at Georgetown University, an M.A. in education and human development (tourism administration) at The George Washington University, a J.D. at Georgia State University School of Law and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in human environmental studies (hospitality & tourism administration) at Oklahoma State University.