Erik Chiarelott

Erik Chiarelott has been teaching at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in the Schmidthorst College of Business since 2006.  Prior to teaching, he worked for 15 years primarily in the hospitality and sports industry in Arizona as a Dining Room Manager, Event Sales Manager, and Director of Food and Beverage Operations.  He worked for private resorts and clubs including Moon Valley Country Club (a subsidiary of PING Golf), Briarwood Country Club, and the Arizona Diamondbacks.  He has a Master of Arts in English with a Specialization in Scientific and Technical Communication with a focus on Business Communication.

Erik has taught courses in Business Communication, Hospitality Management, and Professional Selling.  Erik also created the Resort and Attraction Management (RAAM) program at Bowling Green State University.  Erik created the curriculum for 24 new courses in the degree program by writing all the course syllabi, course descriptions, course objectives, learning outcomes, instructional methods and assessment measures.  He presented the new curriculum during each stage of the approval process from the BGSU undergraduate councils, Faculty Senate, BGSU Board of Trustees, Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) and the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).  The program is based at BGSU Firelands in a building built specifically for the new degree program.  The degree program launched in the Summer of 2020.

Erik also started the Business District Learning Community at Bowling Green State University in 2015.  A learning community helps first-year students acclimate better to the University and studies have shown that students who participate in a learning community have better retention rates and grade point averages.  Students in the Business District live together and engage in a variety of experiential learning activities.  Programming developed by Erik for the Business District includes team-building social activities, site visits to local businesses, and hosting guest speakers.  Erik has also taken the students on trips to Chicago and Washington DC.  These engaging experiences help students in the exploration of careers in the diverse field of business while connecting them with alumni and corporate representatives.

Because of his communications degree and professional background hiring and training staff for over 15 years, Erik also served as an Internship Coordinator for the College of Business.  In this capacity, he provided professional consulting advice to students regarding career opportunities, resume development, and interviewing techniques.  He networked with recruiters to develop opportunities for student employment and organized career-based programs including the Resume Workshop sessions for roughly 200 students per semester and the Speed Interview event with over 30 recruiters and 200 students participating per semester.

Erik is passionate about teaching and helping students both inside and outside the classroom.  He has won the Marie R. Hodge Advising Award for student advising and the Faculty Service Award for service to the University.  He is also passionate about giving back to the community.  He has served in leadership positions on the Rossford Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) where he has helped promote the economic development of the city through marketing the area as a unique destination to increase visits from outside travelers.  Erik has helped plan and oversee community events such as the Ohio Humanities Chautauqua, Glass City Balloon Race, and BassPro Walleye Roundup.  Erik has also volunteered his time with Habitat for Humanity.