In Memoriam: Audrey McCool, 1940-2024

Audrey Carol McCool, longtime professor of hospitality management at several universities, passed away on November 17. She was 84 years old.

Dr. McCool’s career in higher education began at the University of Maryland. She later transitioned to the University of Central Florida, where she was a founding faculty member of the hospitality management school. In 1988, she joined the faculty at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she taught for the next two decades. During her long tenure, she held an endowed chair and established the food and beverage management team. In 2008, she moved to Lubbock, Texas to serve as a professor at Texas Tech University.

As a leader in her field, Dr. McCool was granted the opportunity to run several events during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She was a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education. In addition to her scholarly career, she was a Colonel in the Army Medical Specialist Corps from 1979 until her retirement in 2000.

Dr. McCool earned her doctorate from Texas Tech University.