Dr. John Antun joined the faculty of the Department of Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management as an assistant professor in 2004. He came from the University of South Carolina where he had earned the master’s degree in hotel, restaurant, and tourism management. In 1999 he earned the PhD at the age of 57. He was a faculty member at South Carolina and founded (2000) the Culinary Institute there. He was the founding director of UT’s Culinary Institute, which he began by applying for a Federal Empowerment Zone Grant of $500,000 to teach chef and cooking skills for new, lifelong careers to unemployed people in downtown Knoxville. He expanded the institute and formed a partnership with Pellissippi State, through which students could receive an associate of applied science degree through Pellissippi State. He started a popular Ready for the World Café in the university center, which featured menus from around the world, partnering with ARAMARK, UT’s Dining Services contractor.
He coauthored and contributed to four leading culinary textbooks and authored 24 academic journal articles. In 2008 he was the founding coeditor of The International Journal of Culinary Science and Technology. In addition to his academic credentials, he held the Certified Culinary Educator (CCE) from the American Culinary Federation, Certified Food Management Professional (FMP) and Certified Trainer for the DavSafe Food Safety Training from the National Restaurant Association, and the Certified Hospitality Educator from the American Hotel and Lodging Association.