Frank DeMarco

Expertise

Frank DeMarco is a Teaching Associate Professor and Program Coordinator for the Hospitality and Tourism Program in the John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University.

DeMarco was hired in January 2011 to assist in the development of the Hospitality and Tourism Management program, which grew into a major in 2014. He teaches courses in hospitality and tourism leadership, hotel operations, restaurant operations, event planning, and tourism management. He also supervises hospitality internships.

Outside of the hospitality curriculum, DeMarco has also taught survey of business management, contemporary business strategy, and international business. He and Dr. Ajay Aluri developed an online hospitality major that was launched in 2020 to provide flexibility for those who are working in the hospitality industry and want to expand their learning.

He earned his BS in Business Administration in 1989 at WVU. He participated in the CIMBA program in Asolo, Italy in 2004, earning six credits through the University of Kansas. In 2004, he graduated with a Master of Business Administration from WVU.

DeMarco has been an operator in the Hospitality Industry for over thirty years. He is a training consultant for the Morgantown Marriott, managed by Stonebridge Companies, and a restaurant partner of Taziki’s Mediterranean Café in Morgantown. Previously, he served as the Director of Operations at Waterfront Place Hotel. He was responsible for overseeing the rooms division, the front of the house staff of the Regatta Bar and Grille, and the Wharf Restaurant. 

Prior to his time in Morgantown, DeMarco served as the Executive Director of Graceland Inn, Restaurant, and Conference Center in Elkins, WV and Assistant Professor of Hospitality Management at Davis and Elkins College. He was instrumental in developing the courses to involve Graceland as a learning lab. He also assisted in repositioning the program in the Business and Economics department. The move assured the students an opportunity to graduate from an accredited business program.

Before becoming a member of Davis and Elkins College, he worked for Sodexho Incorporated in the contract food service business as a director of campus dining for eight years.

DeMarco has been a mentor and advisor for the Monongalia Technical Pro Start program since 2012. Under Chef Brian Covell and DeMarco’s mentorship, the management team won the West Virginia Hospitality Cup and qualified five times for the National Pro Start Invitational, sponsored by the National Restaurant Association. In 2022, the team finished in 8th place out of 48 programs, the highest finish in history for a West Virginia team.

DeMarco has received the Chambers College dean’s distinction in outreach award in 2012 and College distinction in full-time-teaching award in 2016. Aluri and DeMarco were awarded the WVU value coin in 2017 for exceeding the values of the university which are accountability, respect, service, appreciation, and curiosity. They were jointly recognized by the West Virginia Department of Education and the West Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association for Mentorship and Teaching, 2017.

DeMarco serves on the following boards and advisory councils: Visit Mountaineer Country CVB (Secretary), West Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association, West Virginia Educational Foundation (Treasurer), Pierpont Community and Technical College Food Service Management Advisory Council, and Monongalia Technical Education Center Advisory Council.

Education

• Executive M.B.A., West Virginia University
• B.S.B.A., West Virginia University