Bio
Dr. Michael Cheng is the Dean and tenured Full Professor at the top-ranked Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Florida International University, where he is transforming hospitality education, starting with the learner experience. Dr. Cheng has subject matter expertise in competency-based learning, hospitality management, Culinology®, food product development, restaurant development, sensory analysis, and food and beverage management. Prior to joining Florida International University, Dr. Cheng served as founding Director and Department Chair, Director of Global Studies and MBA Programs, and tenured Full Professor of Culinology® at Southwest Minnesota State University.
Dr. Cheng received both his B.S. and M.S. in Restaurant/Foodservice Management from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and his Ph.D. in Hospitality Management from Iowa State University. He brings over 25 years of experience in teaching and learning in Culinology® and Hospitality Management, and established the world’s first and only academic discipline that blends culinary arts and food science—Culinology®. The Vilcek Foundation recognized his achievements by placing Dr. Cheng as a finalist in the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in the Culinary Arts in 2010. He has been honored three times by the Research Chefs Association (RCA) with the President’s Award for his continued innovation, dedication, leadership and extraordinary contributions to the RCA community. Dr. Cheng has presented at the National Restaurant Association on Culinology®, as well as at various national and international conferences, such as the Molecular Gastronomy Workshop at University College Cork, Ireland, the Research Chefs Association Culinology Expo, the League for Innovation, and the World Summit for Deans of Independent Schools of Hospitality & Tourism. In 2022, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln recognized Dr. Cheng for his success and leadership with an Alumni Masters award. In 2023, he was recognized as 2023 Top 100 Most Powerful People in USA Hospitality and Global Hospitality by International Hospitality Institute and 2023 Power Leader in Hospitality and 2024 Power Leader in Hospitality by the South Florida Business Journal.
At FIU, he has led and set new benchmarks for partnerships and fundraising, leading towards the creation of the world’s only Bacardi Center of Excellence and the first Hispanic family named wine program, the Vidal-Duart Wine Studies, both at the Chaplin School. Dr. Cheng served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Culinary Science and Technology from 2017 – 2023, and is a published author of several peer-reviewed articles on Culinology® competencies. At FIU, he has led the fundraising efforts for the Chaplin School, and has been recognized as the highest fundraising unit at FIU. He is currently the co-author of the top selling textbook, Hospitality Today: An Introduction. Dr. Cheng is a native of Malaysia.