NEW YORK -- Five deans, one president, a new book, more than 250 dinner guests and endless memories marked a gala evening Sept. 24 in New York City, celebrating the 85th anniversary of Cornell's School of Hotel Administration.

"There may be the top 20 business schools and the top 20 medical schools, but in all the world there is only one top hotel school," said master of ceremonies Leland (Lee) Pillsbury '69 at the anniversary event, held at the Union League Club in midtown Manhattan.

Guests included Cornell President David Skorton, alumni, students, faculty and five Hotel School deans: Robert Beck '42, Ph.D. '54 (1961-81); John Clark (1981-90); David Dittman (1990-2000); David Butler (2000-05); and current dean and E.M. Statler Professor Michael Johnson.

"The students revived an old tradition this year," Johnson said. "They delivered Dr. Skorton a birthday cake, as they did [for other presidents] many, many years ago. And the next day, the president got sick." But the cake was not to blame, Johnson added.

In a rousing speech, Skorton said, "I am very much a fan of what you all do," noting that the Hotel School was a factor in Newsweek naming Cornell "the hottest Ivy" in August. He said that when he and wife Robin Davisson broke the news in January 2006 to friends and family that they were going to Cornell, they were told, "Well, you're going to be at the world's best hotel school."

Saying that scholarships are the No. 1 priority in the dean's campaign, Skorton added, "We want to make sure the doors stay wide open for the generations of students yet to come."

The publication of "Hospitality Goes Global," an illustrated study of the industry's evolution in the 20th and early 21st centuries, was presented by Michelle La Motte '75, MPS '83, president of the Cornell Hotel Society. Copies of the book (a follow-up to 1996's "Hospitality Leadership," a chronological history of the Hotel School) were presented to all of the deans.

Beck, now 86, kept the dinner guests laughing as he recalled his Cornell career. "I graduated from the College of Home Economics [now Human Ecology], and my diploma hangs proudly in my kitchen," he said, later concluding, "The hospitality industry is the largest in the world today. Please note it is divided into two parts: One half is Cornell. The other half is those who wish they'd gone to Cornell."

From the first-ever four-year collegiate program in hospitality and the first teaching hotel, to its graduate and professional programs, the school was a point of pride for those attending.

"I could have been in Asbury Park tonight, seeing Bruce Springsteen, but it was a special thing to see Dean Beck and all the deans," said Drew Nieporent '77, whose Myriad Restaurant Group includes Tribeca Grill, co-owned by Robert De Niro.

"I'm proud of the school. Dean [H.B.] Meek interviewed me to get into Cornell -- he was a wonderful man," said Dick Nelson '57 of San Antonio, who is retired after 41 years with Hilton and Hyatt hotels. Meek was the founding dean of the school, leading it from the hotel program's inception in 1922 until 1961.

"Cornell changed my life," New York restaurateur Tony Zazula '77 said, before praising one of his heroes. "Joseph Baum '43 changed the restaurant industry from a mom-and-pop industry to a professional one. He created the original theme restaurant, where ethnic cuisine was respected for its authenticity."

The Hotel School will also mark the 15th anniversary of the Center for Hospitality Research at an event in New York in November.