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Dr. Jack Samuels is truly not an ordinary man; he is extraordinary, a man of all trades. Dr. Jack Samuels grew up in New York City, where his father owned the largest Harlem store near the Apollo theatre. He spent most weekends working with his parents and eating at neighborhood restaurants. He attended PS187 in Washington Heights (part of “The Heights” area). He joined the Cub Scouts in NYC and the Boy Scouts at 11 before moving to Spring Valley, NY.
In his last year in the NYC School System, he was badly bullied and faced additional bizarre bullying in school and in the Boy Scouts. This made him stronger and impacted his attitude and career ambitions. Despite this, he became a notable youth Scout leader in Rockland County, NY. His Scout Troop honored him as “Scout of the Decade.”
After this, he studied Recreation Administration and Education at SUNY Cortland. He became a famous student leader at the College, producing concerts with Billy Joel, The Grateful Dead, Aerosmith, The Beach Boys, Earth Wind & Fire, and others. He also created several special events and activities for the college and served as Senior Concert Producer, Treasurer, Vice-President, and President of the student activities group.
After graduating, he decided to become a professor. He was motivated because he saw how the profession would grow and develop over time and believed strongly that education in Hospitality, Tourism, Sports, Events, Entertainment, Recreation, etc., needed to be improved and viewed as one field with similar skill sets. He got a Master’s, Doctorate, and MBA from Temple University and Montclair State University. His 1979 Master’s Thesis on why people attend popular music performances predicted crowd control concerns.
His Master’s Thesis predicted the Who Concert disaster in Cincinnati, Ohio. His dissertation anticipated airlines would cut travel agency commissions. The leading travel industry publication’s editor labeled this forecast “blasphemous,” but it came true soon after he published the dissertation.
He is likely the first professor in the U.S. to teach Events Management at Montclair State University in New Jersey, where he has taught for 40 years, pioneered several academic programs, and served as the University Senate President. Author of over 250 theme park industry papers, he was appointed an Honorary Citizen of Walt Disney World and the first Disney Faculty Scholar and Emeritus Board Member for the Walt Disney World College Program. He’s an intern at Sea World Parks. He’s testified in over 200 cases concerning the recreation, events, sports, tourism, and hospitality. In these industries, he’s also done consultancy.
He teaches at Montclair State and runs Tourism, Leisure, and Lotzzastuff Consultants, LLC. The Lotzzastuff is his distinctive trading name for the company’s online retail segment, which has sold unique and varied merchandise online for over 20 years. He’s been married to “Cookie” for almost 35 years and has a 25-year-old son Maxwell Hunter Samuels and still resides in New Jersey, which has been his home State for over 40 years.
Get in touch with the author via phone, or send him an email. He will love to answer your questions.
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