Hospitality in Higher Education
Explore hospitality origins and apply its principles to design campus spaces that foster belonging and wellbeing
Sponsored by MillerKnoll | Presented by Michelle Ossmann, PhD, MSN, MBA
Live Webinar Airing on July 1, 2026 at 02:00 PM ET
In this course, you will learn about the origins of hospitality, the guest-host relationship, and considerations for supporting hospitality in higher education environments. Colleges and universities are dealing with rising student mental health needs, faculty and staff burnout, increasing competition from alternative learning programs, and commuter students who feel disconnected. One way to address these problems is by applying the concepts of hospitality to campus design.
Research into the cultural origins of hospitality show that hosts can fill fundamental human needs by extending psychological and physical security, belonging, and wellbeing to their guests. Designing spaces that offer protection, intellectual welcome, and open table fellowship can help faculty, staff, and students develop a sense of belonging to their campus communities.
Photo courtesy of MillerKnoll
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Michelle Ossmann, PhD, MSN, MBA, is a socio-spatial scientist, focusing on how human interaction is affected by the organization of our buildings; she views technology as both partner and tool. Because Ossmann is also a former critical care nurse practitioner, she has a unique spatial view of health settings. She thinks quite a bit about enabling human behaviors (prevent/promote) and always has outcomes in mind. Teaching, learning, and developing ideas are what she does best. |
MillerKnoll is a global collective of design brands built on the foundation of two icons of modernism: Herman Miller and Knoll. The portfolio also includes furniture and accessories for commercial and residential spaces from Colebrook Bosson Saunders, DWR (Design Within Reach), Edelman, Geiger, HAY, HOLLY HUNT, Knoll Textiles, Maharam, Muuto, NaughtOne, and Spinneybeck | FilzFelt. Guided by a shared purpose—design for the good of humankind—MillerKnoll generates insights, pioneers innovations, and champions ideas to better align spaces with how people live, work, and gather.
Originally published in Architectural Record
Originally published in May 2026
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Recognize the relationship-based pressures that students, faculty, and staff face on campus and how these issues threaten student and employee retention, organizational stability, revenue, and the school’s educational mission.
- Explore the cultural meaning of hospitality and how it meets people’s basic needs for safety and security, nourishment, and recognition as individuals; and be able to explain the guest/host relationship at the core of hospitality and how it applies to campus life.
- Discover how the hospitality-driven design principles of protection, intellectual welcome, and open table can provide safety, security, inclusion, belonging, and trust.
- Implement design that applies those principles to campus spaces including libraries and study halls, large- and small-scale dining, student lounges, and faculty offices.
