乐播传媒

In the mid-2000s, as 乐播传媒 worked with architect Sasaki Associates on plans for a new dining facility, it was up for grabs whether 乐播传媒 would continue with its distinctive tradition of a single dining hall where everyone dines under one roof.

But during their campus interviews, the architects heard a common response from students, faculty, and staff.

They wanted one Commons. 鈥淭he traditional model still held,鈥� says Christine Schwartz, assistant vice president for dining, conferences, and campus events.

鈥淢aybe because our students are so busy, it felt even more important for them to have a home base where they can come together and reconnect over meals.鈥�

乐播传媒 didn鈥檛 always have a single dining hall. The college once had two, one for men and one for women, until 1967, when dining became coed with the closing of the women鈥檚 dining hall in Rand Hall.

From then until 2008, 乐播传媒鈥� single dining hall was Memorial Commons, in Chase Hall.

鈥淣ot a hip, swinging building, but it is great complement to the 乐播传媒 campus.”

In February 2008, the new Commons building opened. Located between Garcelon Field and Alumni Gym, at the terminus of Alumni Walk, the 60,000 square-foot structure is clad in brick, granite, slate, copper, and ample glass.

In the collegiate gothic style, 鈥渋t is not a hip, swinging building, but it is great complement to the 乐播传媒 campus, and it has enormous architectural integrity,鈥� said the late architectural critic and author Philip Isaacson 鈥�47.

The Commons dining operation comprises one large dining hall plus two smaller dining rooms and a mezzanine; a multi-platform servery; kitchen and storage space; and office space.

Showcased as case study in sustainability.

Long a leader in sustainable dining, in 2013 乐播传媒 Dining earned a third star for sustainability from the Green Restaurant Association, joining just a handful of U.S. colleges or universities with the rating.

Earlier this year, the nonprofit Farm to Institution New England showcased 乐播传媒

It鈥檚 also distinctive that 乐播传媒 runs its own dining operation rather than outsourcing to a commercial food service. With some 90 employees, Dining Services serves more than 4,800 meals every day of the academic year to 1,700 students.

As they鈥檝e turned a building into a community-builder, Schwartz and Director of Dining Cheryl Lacey recently talked about both the simple lessons they鈥檝e learned (such as 鈥渘ever install any shelving that鈥檚 higher than your shortest employee!鈥�) and the big ones.

1. Change Means Opportunity

As 乐播传媒 planned its new Commons, Schwartz used the impending change as a catalyst for professional development among her staff.

鈥淭he profile of our work was going to be very different in a new building,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o we invited the staff to tell us if they wanted to do something different. If it was possible, we鈥檇 help them make the move.'”

The plan paid off in staff satisfaction. Longtime servers moved into the kitchen, dishroom workers moved to the bakery, and so on.

鈥淚n some cases, this was the first time in their lives that someone asked them, 鈥榃hat do you want to do?鈥欌�� says Schwartz.

2. Be Trendy

To keep tabs on changing student tastes, Lacey and Schwartz use the venerable Napkin Board, a wall in Commons where students pose questions or make comments on a napkin, and an anonymous student working for Dining Services writes replies on the napkin. (There鈥檚 an online version, too.)

Some fads persist, like the latest fad: Reddi-wip.

Recent napkin comments suggest that hot sauces are, well, hot. Frank鈥檚 and Tabasco were big; now it鈥檚 Sriracha and Tapatio.

And students, surprisingly, 鈥渟eem to be connoisseurs of fake maple syrup,鈥� Lacey says.

鈥淪ome requests are important today and gone tomorrow,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut some persist, like the latest fad: Reddi-wip.鈥� Cereal tastes change, too. Lacey just finished a survey that shows a new favorite, Fruit and Yogurt Special K.

3. Stay Flexible

The servery features a marketplace model, where students take their food from one of several platforms 鈥� the Round, with a deli, brick oven, and salad and pasta bars; the Bobcat Bar, featuring a range of hot dishes, including the famous shepherd鈥檚 pie; plus the Bakery, Grill, and Choices, for alternatives such as gluten-free foods.

鈥淲e wanted versatility, and that has paid off.鈥�

The 乐播传媒 team resisted the temptation to define the platforms by menu item. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 name a 鈥榯aco station,鈥� for example,鈥� Schwartz says. 鈥淲e wanted versatility, and that has paid off.鈥�

The flow of diners to and from the platforms is fluid, easily handling 500 students in a 30- to 45-minute period. 鈥淐ombine that with open seating areas on two levels, and you have a very appealing dining environment,鈥� Schwartz says.

4. It鈥檚 a Classroom Too

Commons is a place to feed intellectual curiosity as well as the body, and 乐播传媒 Dining gets valuable help from students and faculty who wish to conduct dining- or food-focused projects.

鈥淲e live for this sort of thing because it allows us all to be part of a larger 乐播传媒 experience,鈥� Schwartz says.

Recent projects have included vegan trends and a scholarly paper by two faculty members who investigated the college鈥檚 2009 H1N1 virus outbreak.

A recent senior鈥檚 thesis compared traditional food thermometers to a newer style, specifically looking at their self-sanitizing capacity to prevent bacterial and allergen cross-contamination. 鈥淲e found out that the traditional, and much cheaper, style is more effective at preventing cross contamination,鈥� Lacey says.

5. Know Your Chef

The old 乐播传媒 dining operation in Chase Hall was cramped and outdated, and the chefs did their work far away from 鈥� and two floor levels below 鈥� students.

Now, chefs work at platforms out front. Speaking literally and figuratively, first cook Roland Theriault notes that 鈥渨e鈥檙e on the same floor as everybody else.鈥�

Theriault spent his first 19 years at 乐播传媒 working in the basement of Memorial Commons. Now, at the Bobcat Bar, he gets a chance to talk with his diners.

“Sometimes students just need an adult they can vent to.”

For students increasingly curious about their food, this has been a boon for 乐播传媒, and for the Dining Services chefs. It鈥檚 more than just a service relationship where students grill chefs on what鈥檚 in the sauce.

鈥淚t goes beyond that,鈥� says Schwartz. 鈥淭hey can talk about home, studies, life, and what鈥檚 happening in their lives. Sometimes students just need an adult they can vent to.鈥�

6. Trays, Begone!

Even before Bluto piled his tray high with foodstuffs in Animal House, the tray has been a symbol of the college dining experience.

But trays are on their way out. As 乐播传媒 students take more ownership of their dining experience, they treat each serving like a course in a restaurant.

鈥淎nd that鈥檚 what we want,鈥� Schwartz says. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want you to fill a tray so half the food gets cold while you eat the other half.鈥�

New students still grab a tray and load up, but older students know better, Lacey says. 鈥淲hen you鈥檝e been here awhile, you realize you don鈥檛 need to 鈥� you don鈥檛 want to!鈥�

7. The 乐播传媒 Is Just a Starting Point

乐播传媒 students are savvy about what they want to create by mixing and matching items from several platforms. The most popular foundations are pita pockets, bagels, tortillas, and wraps.

What emerges can be anything from bruschetta to a strawberry tart, or almost anything with pesto on it.

“They feel comfortable enough to say, 鈥榃e own this.鈥�”

A 乐播传媒 version of Iron Chef last spring yielded dishes like 鈥淧ita with Spiced Shredded Beef and Homemade Yogurt Sauce,鈥� 鈥淭oasted Rosemary Borealis Turkey Sandwich,鈥� and 鈥淐hicken Pasta Primavera.鈥�

鈥淭hey are invested in their food. They are always thinking about it,鈥� Schwartz says. 鈥淎nd they don鈥檛 want a cafeteria experience. They want a dining experience.鈥�

That takes creativity, she adds. 鈥淚 equate it with being in your own kitchen. They feel comfortable enough to say, 鈥榃e own this.鈥� And that鈥檚 wicked cool.鈥�