Dr Dalene Crowther
Head of Department
Bloemfontein Campus
Qualifications: Doctor of Business Management | Master's in Higher Education | BTech (Post-School Education) | BTech (Food Service Management) | Diploma (Food Service Management)
Professional Background
Dr Dalene Crowther is the Head of the Department of Hospitality Management at the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT), where she has built an academic career spanning more than 25 years. She began her career at CUT in 2000 as a Lecturer’s Assistant in Hospitality Management and holds a BTech in Food Service Management (cum laude), a BTech in Post-School Education, a Master’s degree in Higher Education (cum laude) from the University of the Free State, and a Doctor of Business Administration from CUT.
Her professional experience also includes serving as Director: Student and Learning Affairs at the South African College for Tourism before returning to CUT in 2004. Since 2016, she has served as Acting Head of Department and subsequently Head of the Department of Hospitality Management. Dr Crowther’s academic interests and contributions span hospitality and tourism education and research, teaching and learning, postgraduate supervision, curriculum development, industry and community engagement, and academic leadership. Her doctoral research focused on developing a sustainable financial management strategy for South African universities’ hotel schools.
Areas of Expertise
- • Hospitality Management
- • Food Service Management
- • Housekeeping Operations
- • Academic Leadership & Curriculum Development
Selected Publications
Highlighting the 5 most recent scholarly contributions.
- • Boadi, M., Dzansi, D.Y. & Crowther, D. 2026. Customer deviant behaviour on frontline hospitality employee service motivation: Mediating role of supervisor support. Tourism and Hospitality, 7(4), 92.
- • Masuku, T.F., Dzansi, D.Y. & Crowther, D. 2025. Predicting Intention to Quit Through Supervisor Support and Growth Opportunities: Evidence from South African Hotels in Bloemfontein. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 14(5), 1137–1145.
- • Zitho, K.K., Crowther, D. & Setokoe, T.J. 2025. Investigating the implications of injury occurrence on the productivity of housekeeping personnel in graded hotels in the Free State. Interdisciplinary Journal of Management Sciences, 2(2), 1–14.
- • Mosikatsana, R.P., Van Zyl, J. & Crowther, D. 2024. Employee perceptions of service quality delivery in the housekeeping departments of graded hotels in Bloemfontein. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure.
- • Crowther, D., Strydom, A.J. & Dzansi, D.Y. 2018. Towards the sustainability of a financially constrained university’s Hotel School: lessons from local and international universities’ Hotel Schools. African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 7(4).
