Office Address: 226C Richard M. DeVos Center – Pew Campus Phone: (616) 331-8827 Email: [email protected]

Education

B.A. - Miami University (Ohio)

M.Ed. - Grand Valley State University

J.D. - Michigan State University College of Law

Teaching Subject Areas

HTM 217 – Cannabis and Culture

HTM 242 – Cannabis Regulations and Tourism

HTM 268 – Adventure Tourism

HTM 317 – Responsible Cannabis Operations

HTM 318 – Responsible Beverage Management

HTM 343 – Human Resource Management (SWS)

HTM 361 – Hospitality Law & Legislation

HTM 368 – Geotourism

HTM 495 – Hospitality Management Capstone

PNH 550 – Cannabis and Community

Experience

John W. Lipford is an Assistant Professor in Grand Valley State University’s (GVSU) Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) program. Prior to joining GVSU in 2010, John practiced law in Saginaw and Grand Rapids, Michigan, representing individual plaintiffs as well as individual and corporate defendants in a variety of cases. He remains a member of the State Bar of Michigan and is licensed to practice law in the state.

Early in his career at GVSU, John primarily taught SWS Human Resource Management (HTM 343) and Hospitality Law & Legislation (HTM 361). In these courses, he emphasizes practical, best-practice employment and management strategies while helping students understand the legal concepts, laws, and principles governing the hospitality and tourism industry. A particular focus is the liability that can result when organizations fail to understand or consistently follow applicable laws, regulations, and policies.

John later co-created GVSU’s study-abroad program to Costa Rica in partnership with EARTH University in Guácimo, Costa Rica. The program combined classroom instruction and experiential learning in Adventure Tourism (HTM 268) and Geotourism (HTM 368), providing students with an opportunity to explore tourism, sustainability, conservation, and community development within the context of Costa Rica. John also taught HTM 368 in the traditional classroom setting and partnered with John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids on a project in which students “adopt” a zoo animal species and examine the effects of climate change, unsustainable agricultural practices, and tourism on the species and its country of origin.

More recently, John designed GVSU’s cannabis curriculum, including stackable credentials focused on cannabis operations, tourism, and community. The curriculum includes Cannabis Regulations and Tourism (HTM 242), which examines the challenges and opportunities associated with cannabis-based tourism for food service and lodging, tour operators, meetings and events, and various franchise operations following Michigan voters’ approval of Proposition 1 in 2018.

The remainder of the cannabis curriculum examines the regulatory history of cannabis in the United States and abroad, including a comparative analysis of U.S. and international approaches to recreational and medical cannabis. Students also compare and contrast cannabis regulation with alcohol prohibition in the United States during the 1920s and early 1930s. The curriculum incorporates topics relevant to students across a variety of disciplines, including American history, law, human resources, economics, international studies, and tourism.

Students explore cannabis through the lenses of community health and addiction, social and restorative justice, and responsible business operations. Particular attention is given to the responsibilities of operators in regulating employee and guest use of cannabis. John’s work in developing this curriculum has received national attention, including coverage by National Geographic.

In addition to cannabis tourism and the impacts of cannabis on culture and communities (Lipford & Rood, 2024), John’s research interests include social justice issues and discrimination within the hospitality and tourism (HTM) industry; the use of service animals by HTM guests and employees; the history and expansion of responsible tourism in U.S. National Parks and throughout the Great Plains; and the use of popular media, including NBC’s The Office, to facilitate active learning in the modern classroom (Lipford & Rood, 2019).

John also particularly values the opportunity to serve as a faculty mentor and supervisor for student independent studies in the HTM department and senior projects in the Frederik Meijer Honors College. Over the years, these projects have addressed topics including airline and airport affordability; human resource policy in food service; sustainable tourism in the Great Plains; social media and employer background checks; customer service and sustainability in Costa Rican eco-lodges; tourism and national parks in Costa Rica and the United States; and sexual harassment in the hospitality industry.

John holds undergraduate degrees in journalism and psychology from Miami University (Ohio), an M.Ed. in Adult and Higher Education from Grand Valley State University, and a J.D. from Michigan State University College of Law.

In his free time, John enjoys spending time in nature with his spouse, children, dogs, cats, and nearby woodland creatures. He is an avid Detroit Tigers fan, enjoys writing, and considers fishing his favorite pastime.