Biography
Lilly Jan is an Assistant Teaching Professor at the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration in the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business. Her teaching and scholarship span food and beverage management, food culture, food safety, foodservice facility design, and hospitality leadership, with particular interests in cultural competency and access and opportunity within the foodservice industry.
A chef by training, Jan brings nearly two decades of hospitality and foodservice experience to her academic work. Her research examines food and restaurant culture, food safety and training, and the educational, organizational, and workplace factors that shape career opportunities and advancement for historically marginalized populations in foodservice.
Jan is Section Editor for Hospitality for The International Journal of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism. She serves on the Executive Board of the Food Education Fund and on the Conference for Food Protection’s 2025–2027 Food Safety Culture at Retail and Food Safety Management Systems committees. At Cornell, she also serves on the university’s Truman Scholarship endorsement committee. From 2021 to 2024, she was faculty director of the James Beard Foundation’s Women Entrepreneurial Leadership Program.
Jan is a frequent speaker at academic and industry conferences and in executive education programs, where she addresses food and restaurant trends, food culture, and issues of identity, access, and opportunity in food and beverage. Her industry experience includes consulting with Fortune 100 companies, industry organizations, and food and beverage entrepreneurs, as well as work in culinary operations, catering and events, retail, and television production.
Before joining Cornell, Jan served as director of culinary operations, faculty member, and academic advisor at Newbury College and taught at Le Cordon Bleu and Boston University. She earned her PhD in Hospitality Management from Iowa State University and her undergraduate and master’s degrees from Boston University.
Education
PhD Iowa State University, 2018 MLA Boston University, 2012 BS Boston University, 2004
Research
- Jan, Lilly. "Rebuilding Better: Fostering a Restaurant Industry in Service of Employees"Boston Hospitality Review. (2022)
- Jan, Lilly; Coleman, Shannon; Naig, Anirudh. "Pilot Development of a Critical Food Safety Message Visual Communication Tool for Farmers' Market Vendors"Journal of Human Sciences and Extension. 9.3 (2021): 142-153
- Jan, Lilly; Naig, Anirudh. "Food allergen labeling of commonly used ingredients in Chinese restaurants in the United States"Food Control. 130 (2021): 108381
- Jan, Lilly; Naig, Anirudh. "Food Allergy Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices, and Training Experiences of Employees in Chinese Restaurants"Journal of Foodservice Management and Education. 14.1 (2020): 15-24
Awards
- Faculty Teaching Recognition Award - Undergraduate Elective Fall (2026) Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration
- Faculty Teaching Recognition Award - Undergraduate Elective Spring (2024) Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration
- Ted Teng '79 Dean's Teaching Excellence Award (2022) Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration
- Teaching Honor Roll (2017 - 2019) Cornell SC Johnson College of Business
- Professional Development Grant (2018) Graduate and Professional Student Senate, Iowa State University