William V. Eaton BS '61 (Hotel)
Alumni-elected trustee, 2007
William Eaton is chairman of Cini-Little International, which provides design, operational, and management consulting services in the functional areas of foodservice and hospitality. He has been in the foodservice industry since attending Cornell University, when a summer job at the Statler Hotel convinced him to change his major from engineering physics to hotel administration.
Cornell Service
Eaton was elected by the alumni to his position on the Cornell University Board of Trustees in 2007. As a member of the board, he is a member of the Committee on Alumni Affairs, the Student Life Committee, and the Academic Affairs Committee, and is a trustee member of the Cornell University Council Administrative Board. He is also a life member of the Cornell University Council and has served on the Committee on International Programs and the Committee on Sustainable Development and Environmental Stewardship. Mr. Eaton is a past president of the Cornell Hotel Society and co-chairs the Washington, D.C. Annual Fund and the Class of 1961 Major Gifts Committee. He received the Frank H.T. Rhodes Exemplary Alumni Service Award in 2001.
Professional Career
In addition to his role as chairman of Cint-Little International, Eaton speaks regularly at industry seminars, conventions, and association events for organizations such as the National Retail Merchants Area, the American Society of Interior Designers, the National Restaurant Association, and the National Association of Foodservice Equipment Manufacturers. He also is a regular contributing editor to prestigious trade magazines.
Eaton is a member of the executive board of the Anne Arundel Community College Hotel, Culinary Arts, and & Tourism Institute in Maryland; a member of the National Restaurant Association; and a member of the advisory board of Global Foodservice. He Eaton is also a member of several industry organizations.
Eaton and his wife, Phyllis Wright Eaton, have four daughters, three of whom attended Cornell's Hotel School. They have eleven grandchildren, including one who graduated from the Hotel School and one who currently is a freshman. The Eatons divide their time between Severna Park, Maryland, and their environmentally focused historic farm on the Chesapeake Bay on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
