In his retirement, Ralph Sylvester ’50 of Auburn became a familiar and welcoming presence on the �ֲ���ý campus, having breakfast most days in the Den or in Commons with a circle of �ֲ���ý friends.

In November 2023, Sylvester died at the age of 99, but his positive presence will be felt at �ֲ���ý for many years to come, thanks to his bequest of $1.3 million to �ֲ���ý.

Made through Sylvester’s will, the bequest creates two new permanently endowed funds that will leave a legacy of access, opportunity, and community at �ֲ���ý. 

One endowment, the Ralph L. Sylvester ’50 Fund for Financial Aid, will provide need-based scholarships for �ֲ���ý students, with preference for students from Androscoggin and Oxford counties. The second endowment, the Ralph L. Sylvester ’50 Fund for Dining Services, will support professional development for the members of the college’s dining team.

“Ralph was for the underdog, and he was always our champion,” said Christine Schwartz, associate vice president for dining, conferences, and campus events. 

Schwartz learned of Sylvester’s bequest this week while she was handling swiftly shifting details for Commencement weekend — rain was in the forecast. 

She teared up when hearing the news. True, the two hadn’t started out eye-to-eye: Sylvester didn’t mince words when offering feedback on goings-on at his alma mater, including her dining operation. 

“Let’s just say that Ralph and I did not start out in a stellar way,” Schwartz says. “But we became great friends, and I really took in his wisdom.” During COVID, Schwartz and her team delivered meals to Sylvester at his home in Auburn.

In recent years, the two friends often talked about how to create opportunity and advancement for the many members of the Dining Services team. “How do we move people along their career path? How do we, as a college, help our staff members realize that there are many opportunities to either continue on the path you’re on, or to open yourself up to wider opportunities?”

Sylvester was born in Lewiston in 1924 and lived in Auburn for most of his life. Growing up, he was a newsboy for the local paper, graduating from Edward Little High School and entering �ֲ���ý in September 1942. He worked in a local mill to earn tuition money.

Then came World War II. Sylvester joined the U.S. Army in 1943, serving with the 295th Combat Engineers. He landed on Omaha Beach five days after D-Day, when the beach was still covered with the bodies of dead American soldiers, and later fought in the Battle of the Bulge.

After the war, he returned home to Auburn, and returned to �ֲ���ý. War had taken a toll, and he left before graduating, but always remained connected to his alma mater.

He married Elaine Miller in 1949, and worked in local banks and in telecommunications, helping to deliver service to rural Maine. He was a lifelong supporter of public institutions in the Lewiston-Auburn community.

Active in veterans affairs, he supported Honor Flight, a nonprofit program that honors U.S. military veterans by flying them for free to Washington, D.C., to visit the memorials dedicated to their service and sacrifice.

After retiring, he and Elaine started a morning routine of having breakfast at the Den. That was where Peter Steenstra, head coach of �ֲ���ý rowing, met Sylvester. Steenstra liked to head to the Den for breakfast after the rowers’ early morning practice on the Androscoggin River. 

Sitting, eating, and talking with Sylvester and others became a morning ritual. “Being able to chat with someone who had such a vast experience in the world helped me keep things in perspective,” Steenstra said.

In recent years, Sylvester shifted to Commons, where he got to know �ֲ���ý rowers, who would greet the nonagenarian as they returned from the river after practice. 

In April 2023, the �ֲ���ý rowing team chose to honor Sylvester by naming its new shell Ralph Sylvester ’50. During the christening ceremony in Perry Atrium, Steenstra presented an oar blade to Sylvester, a symbol of the great esteem the coach and rowers had for him. 

While having lunch with his teammates in Commons on Wednesday, �ֲ���ý rower Leo Sullivan ’25 of Bloomfield, Conn., took in the news of Sylvester’s bequest. Sullivan was at the 2023 event, where he met and shook hands with Sylvester.

“It’s incredible that he was so invested in this community that he would pay it forward in that way,” said Sullivan. “It just speaks to what a major part of �ֲ���ý he was.”

The show must go on, said Christine Schwartz, even if it’s more like theater in a box.

In late October, after �ֲ���ý saw a brief uptick in student COVID-19 cases, “we struggled whether to go ahead” with the annual Harvest Meal, says Schwartz, who oversees the college’s dining, events, and conferences operation.

“I mean, what do you do? What should we do?”

Since reopening in August under COVID-19 protocols, �ֲ���ý dining has operated as a take-out program. Gone are multi-hour, sit-down meals. Gone is mixing and matching myriad menu items to create one’s own showstopper (topped with sriracha, of course). Even the venerable Napkin Board is now entirely remote.

These days, when students walk into Commons, all the food that awaits them — entrees, sandwiches and wrap, snacks, condiments, and desserts — is either pre-packaged in single-serve boxes or served from steam trays by Dining Services staff working behind plexiglass windows. Only beverages are self-serve. Once the student has their food, out they go. 

The issue around Harvest Meal for Schwartz and her longtime colleague, Director of Dining Services Cheryl Lacey, wasn’t entirely about safety. Their operation already features physical distancing, universal masking, staff working behind plexiglass windows — unfortunately limiting interaction with students — no indoor dining, including no Bobcat Den, and extensive cleaning protocols. 

The challenge was existential: Could such a thing as a Harvest Meal exist as a take-out concept? Without all the trimmings (food and otherwise), like horse-and-carriage rides, ice sculptures, and other theme-inspired decorations?

“In the end, we decided we had to do it,” said Schwartz. “There has to be some sense of continuation of normalcy — whatever that normal is.” 

The burden in the end fell mostly on the menu (plus lots of inflatables around the theme “Life’s a Beach”) a range of familiar and comforting fare of a �ֲ���ý Harvest Meal, starting with roasted turkey. There was also beef brisket encrusted with brown sugar and chili; seafood chowder; roasted eggplant with artichokes and spinach; and green bean and tofu casserole, among other options.

This is just the most recent chapter in what for Schwartz and Lacey has been a massive effort to give �ֲ���ý’ 1,700 on-campus students a normal dining experience, unfolding against a backdrop of anything but normal as students made the transition from sit-down meals in Commons to grab-and-go dining, dubbed “Dash.” 

Along the way some interesting things have happened, giving rise to some concerns about post-pandemic dining.

For one, the staff has noticed that many students have compressed their three meals into two, “treating breakfast and lunch as one meal and dinner as another,” says Schwartz, “or treating dinner and the next day’s breakfast as one meal, and lunch as another.”

This doesn’t mean they’ve created some kind of delicate brunch. This is about loading up on take-out items at breakfast, then skipping lunch and returning for dinner. Or, loading up at dinner and skipping the next morning’s breakfast. The convenience of take-out food means they can stockpile snacks and even entire meals in their dorm rooms if they have fridges.  

“It’s an interesting trend,” Schwartz says, providing evidence that “skipping” meals does not mean eating less, according to what one might call the Nugget Index. “In the past, we would go through 42 cases of chicken nuggets” — that’s 420 pounds — “on days we serve them. Now when we serve chicken nuggets, we go through 56 cases.”

The so-called Nugget Index does more than indicate how much students eat; it also shows what they care about — and those things, whether large or seemingly small, are what Dining Services wants to help sustain, those “extremely important items of comfort food, whether entrees or condiments, that speak to what they love about Commons, from thin-crust pizza and hot vegan options to bagels, guacamole, salsa, and sriracha,” says Schwartz.

And chocolate milk. Students love chocolate milk. But this fall the college’s dairy provider stopped providing the product in large bags. So Dining Services put out chocolate syrup next to the milk. But there was an unexpected learning curve: Some students had never made chocolate milk from syrup, “so we had to put a recipe card” next to the syrup, says Schwartz. 

For students who are in isolation or quarantine due to COVID, �ֲ���ý has partnered with student-run delivery app Easy Eats to support meal delivery to students who aren’t able to come to Commons for meals. “We also hope this becomes a platform through which students with special dietary needs can communicate with our operation in a more robust way.” 

Efforts by Dining Services such as the Dash program have been a big part of the college’s successful effort to reopen and stay open. Still, Schwartz and Lacey look warily at how the convenience and success of the Dash program might affect their pandemic-free future. 

“I mean, it does scare us,” says Schwartz. “None of us have spent our careers to create and perfect a pass-by dining program. It’s not what we are designed to do and it’s not who we want to be.

“You need to have casual interactions” before an acquaintance becomes a friend. “That’s what Commons provides.”

“In the future, I think it’s going to be tough for us to get totally away from grab-and-go. It depends on how long the pandemic lasts. Right now, students’ memories of the communal experience and the relationships they can build in Commons are still pretty strong. If we can flip back in the next six months, we have a good chance of being able to do away with grab-and-go. If it runs much longer than that, to-go dining becomes a norm.”

At least anecdotally, students feel a strong need to go back to the old ways. Dining in Commons, they say, helps them navigate �ֲ���ý life, specifically how it helps students make new friendships.

“You need to have casual interactions” before an acquaintance becomes a friend, says Mei Kane ’23 of New York City. “That’s what Commons provides,” a chance to spend time in proximity with people you previously only knew by sight. “It’s especially helpful to meet seniors, since they often live off campus or in suites.” 

More than a meal place, “Commons is a social space for me,” says Ali Manning ’23 of Sydney, Australia. “I used to sit in Commons from 5 to 7 in the evening, just catching up with friends and relaxing after long days of classes and before starting our homework. It’s more than the food.”

The Dash program works well, she says, and “I deeply appreciate the work and effort that our dining staff puts into it. It’s not the same but I am sure that most students would say it’s a sacrifice we’re okay with making to stay safe and healthy.”

Maintaining a sustainable ethic has also been a challenge, since the Dash program relies on throwaway packaging (though as much packaging as possible is made from 100-percent recycled materials.)

Lacey knows there is a base of students, including EcoReps, who “lament that we are using so many disposables.” She hopes those same students, with support from Dining Services and the college’s Sustainability Office, will help a return to sustainable practices, post-pandemic.

“The most effective change that we see among students is often peer-led,” she says. “And I think we will have enough peers who will lead our students away from the disposable trend” when post-pandemic life arrives at �ֲ���ý. “I think we will get strong support from those students.”

Through a thankfully mild fall, the scenes of students eating outdoors here and there, on Alumni Walk, in the new Adirondack chairs, or on Garcelon Field, were idyllic. As cold weather takes hold, and outdoor dining becomes unlikely, Schwartz and her team are constrained by Maine occupancy limits for indoor gatherings, whether dining or not: 50 people per any given room.

“Everything this fall was more difficult than before, but you guys nailed it.”

“We could have up to 50 seats up in the mezzanine” of Commons, Schwartz explains, as the main dining room will still be used for physically distanced food service. “But other campus rooms large enough to accommodate 50 people are already being used for something equally important.”

But there’s no throwing in the towel for Schwartz and her team. “We will always look at ways to build community through dining. We will try to keep the memory alive of the magical experience of Commons for when, someday, we all can dine together again.”

And what about the years’ Harvest Meal? Students loved both the food and the effort, including umpteen inflatables around the theme, “Life’s a Beach.” Vanessa Paolella ’21, editor-in-chief of The �ֲ���ý Student, gave a public shoutout in her paper:

“Thank you to all of the Commons workers who have gone above and beyond to keep us fed this semester. Everything this fall was more difficult than before, but you guys nailed it.”

Every day Mathieu Moutou ’22 of Vacoas, Mauritius, makes trips to the Bobcat Den to pick up lunch and dinner, as well as something from a copious spread on the snack table Dining Services has set up for the students who have been living on campus during the COVID-19 crisis.

It’s all been timed so he doesn’t have to spend more than five minutes in the building. He orders online and then gets a notification that the food is ready for pickup. There’s no contact, but the staff are there.

And most days those quick exchanges with the people who are cooking and packing to go containers at the Den represent his only in-person interactions, other than with the students in his dorm (all at a safe social distance).

“They are so kind,” says Moutou, a double major in math and music. “I don’t even have to tell them my name anymore since they’ve come to know who I am. They know I eat a lot so sometimes they give me extras and leftovers.”

In September 2017, Kevin Michaud of Dining Services prepares a staple of Commons comfort food, grilled cheese sandwiches. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

It’s undeniably lonely for the approximately 80 students who petitioned to remain on campus for various reasons, including not being able to travel to their home countries and, for some seniors, thesis work that could not be done remotely.

They’re on campus, but one that’s mostly empty (since March 17, most �ֲ���ý faculty and staff have been working from home, except for essential personnel.)

Still, some things haven’t changed for students on campus. “�ֲ���ý people care. They reach out to me individually and are just like, ‘How are you doing?’” says Alexis Fifield ’21 of Guatemala City, Guatemala, who has also been in residence.

“How things are done and what is provided to us has changed, but that sense of ‘We’re here for you, and you’re here for us,’ that mutual feeling of ‘We want to do this together,’ hasn’t changed.”

Even if there are fewer of them, “what makes �ֲ���ý, �ֲ���ý, are the people,” says Moutou, who can’t return to his home in Mauritius. The Indian Ocean island nation near Madagascar, which has reported 332 COVID-19 cases total, shut down outside access in March. “My country closed its borders indefinitely,” Moutou says. “I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

“The eggamuffin. They were so excited about that.”

No wonder familiar foods from �ֲ���ý Dining Services are what he and others crave. “What we have found is that it’s all about the comfort food,” says Christine Schwartz, assistant vice president for dining, conferences, and campus events.

When students place their orders online, they are very specific about their cravings. “They ask, can we include their favorite dishes, like General Tso’s chicken and the taco bar. They like chimichanga and lemon chicken.” An English muffin with egg was a big hit, Schwartz says. “The eggamuffin. They were so excited about that.”

When Schwartz and Cheryl Lacey, director of dining services, started planning for ways to feed the �ֲ���ý students who would remain on campus, they understood that they’d have to supply comfort on multiple levels.

As Moutou points out, the students see their professors on Zoom and such, but the dining staff are their main in-person contact — albeit from a safe social distance — with the world outside their dorm. “Besides Security, we are probably going to be the only people they are going to see on campus,” Schwartz says.

“I like just taking time to sit out here and get some fresh air,” says Alexis Fifield ’21 of Guatemala City, Guatemala, as she finishes dinner, including some Dining Services comfort food: french fries. What hasn’t changed for students on campus is the sense that “�ֲ���ý people care,” she says. (Jay Burns/�ֲ���ý College)

“It was a quick turn for us,” she adds. “We were retooling almost hourly to get there while we were maintaining the health and wellness of our own staff.”

They decided deliberately to provide food in two venues, to give students two distinct places to visit, breaking up their days. A continental breakfast is available at Commons and grab-and-go lunches and dinners are prepared and distributed at the Den.

The Dining Services staff working these areas “really connect with the students,” Schwartz said. That includes recognizing who eats what and who is going to be super sad if there are no Oreos on the snack table (actually, two 8-foot tables together). Which turned out to be most of the remaining students, as it turns out. “I tried to get some Lorna Doones and Nutter Butters and some Milanos and they are like, ‘Where are my Oreos?’” Schwartz says.

The staff has also been helping students process as they face a strange situation on campus while also preparing for final exams (going on now through May 2) and trying to stay healthy. Maybe they’ve wanted to complain about coursework, or what they missed, or just how weird all this was.

More comfort food: See the deliciousness of a �ֲ���ý Bobcat sandwich as it is assembled by Dining Services executive chef Owen Keene. Video by Theophil Syslo.

That definitely happened at first, Schwartz says. But by mid-April, the talk about the weirdness had diminished. The team reached its stride and shifted to an online ordering system to shorten students’ wait times inside the Den. “It has sort of taken on a rhythm of its own.”

The constant has been comfort food, fitting for what has been a chilly spring in Maine, including a 6-inch snowfall on April 10. (On one notably warm, sunny day on campus, the staff saw a sudden increase in requests for sliced fruit and salads, typical for good weather, Schwartz says.)

For the most part, Schwartz says, the remaining students on campus want the classics. There’s the student who ordered chicken nuggets so often that Schwartz wondered if it might be time for a gentle nudge about other food groups.

They want Chicken Patty Satty (“Chicken Patty Saturday,” that is). The taco bar has been established, with takeaway containers of salsa and other add-ons. And they really, really want General Tso’s chicken. (See recipe, in case you too are having a craving.)

Not Moutou. He’s been craving chicken with scallions — although “my favorite snack is, by far, the frozen mac and cheese,” he says. Schwartz confirms that this is one of the most popular snacks to go. When Moutou takes it back to the dorm, it’s just a frozen block of pasta and sauce — but it becomes “a culinary delight ready in four minutes in the microwave.”

BATES GENERAL TSO’S CHICKEN

Serves: 6
Start to finish: 1 hour (30 minutes active time)

The �ֲ���ý Dining Services version of General Tso’s chicken uses boneless, breaded chicken wings, deep fried, but this “Close to Commons” recipe can be adapted for whatever breaded chicken you have on hand, including frozen chicken tenders that can be cooked on a sheet pan in the oven.

If you’re ambitious and want to make your own fried chicken to start, use a counter-top deep-fat fryer, an air fryer, or fry on the stovetop in a pan deep enough to hold the amount of vegetable oil needed to fry the chicken. (Our only rule is to make sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.)

You can use the time the chicken is warming or cooking to prep the rest of the ingredients, including blanching the broccoli and carrots and making the sauce. Amounts for the broccoli and carrots are suggested; make more if you want more emphasis on the vegetables.

Serve over rice to soak up the sauce.

1 to 2 pounds boneless breaded chicken wings or tenders depending on how much protein you’d like

Vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/4 teaspoon ginger, minced (or pureed if available)

1 tablespoon white wine

1/2 cup vegetable stock

2 1/2 teaspoons soy or tamari sauce

1 tablespoon white vinegar

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon corn syrup

2 1/2 teaspoons of teriyaki sauce

1/8 teaspoon of red pepper (about 2 pinches) or more to taste

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 1/2 tablespoons water

1/2 cup broccoli (�ֲ���ý uses florets)

1/4 cup of fresh carrots, matchstick-cut

Put the chicken in the oven, using instructions on the package or, if you’re frying, into the hot oil.

Cut the carrots into matchsticks and the broccoli into florets. Boil water in a medium-sized pot and when it is at a rolling boil, drop the vegetables in for one minute. After one minute, drain and run cold water over them to stop the cooking process.

Alternatively, you can plunge them into an ice-water bath. The goal is to keep the vegetables a little crisp. Set aside.

In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, warm 1 to 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and stir-fry the garlic and ginger for a minute. Add wine and let it cook off for about a minute.

Add the vegetable stock (chicken will do if you don’t have vegetable stock or bouillon on hand), soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, corn syrup, teriyaki sauce and crushed red pepper to the pan. Bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, mix the cornstarch with 1 1/2 tablespoons of water to make a slurry. When it’s creamy and mixed, add to the boiling sauce. Stir constantly as it thickens.

Taste to check the seasonings and adjust accordingly. If you like spice, you might want more red pepper at this point.

Pour over the cooked chicken and toss to coat, then garnish with the blanched vegetables. At �ֲ���ý, it’s served over rice.

The Garcelon Field lights illuminate Commons on a March night. Inside is the traditional and restorative “home base” where students can gather and reconnect during mealtime. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

In the mid-2000s, as �ֲ���ý worked with architect Sasaki Associates on plans for a new dining facility, it was up for grabs whether �ֲ���ý 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. “The traditional model still held,” says Christine Schwartz, assistant vice president for dining, conferences, and campus events.

“Maybe 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.”

�ֲ���ý didn’t 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’s dining hall in Rand Hall.

From then until 2008, �ֲ���ý’ single dining hall was Memorial Commons, in Chase Hall.

“Not a hip, swinging building, but it is great complement to the �ֲ���ý 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, “it is not a hip, swinging building, but it is great complement to the �ֲ���ý campus, and it has enormous architectural integrity,” said the late architectural critic and author Philip Isaacson ’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 �ֲ���ý 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 �ֲ���ý

It’s also distinctive that �ֲ���ý 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.

Cheryl Lacey (left) and Christine Schwartz aren’t above adding some levity (and lobster claw boppers) in the service of the �ֲ���ý dining experience. Lacey is director of Dining Services, and Schwartz is assistant vice president for dining, conferences, and campus events. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

As they’ve turned a building into a community-builder, Schwartz and Director of Dining Cheryl Lacey recently talked about both the simple lessons they’ve learned (such as “never install any shelving that’s higher than your shortest employee!”) and the big ones.

1. Change Means Opportunity

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

“The profile of our work was going to be very different in a new building,” she says. “So we invited the staff to tell us if they wanted to do something different. If it was possible, we’d 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.

“In some cases, this was the first time in their lives that someone asked them, ‘What do you want to do?’” says Schwartz.

2. Be Trendy

The Napkin Board lets �ֲ���ý students comment, criticize, request, and praise. This napkin’s request for a BLT station gets a hopeful response. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

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’s an online version, too.)

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

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

And students, surprisingly, “seem to be connoisseurs of fake maple syrup,” Lacey says.

“Some requests are important today and gone tomorrow,” she says. “But some persist, like the latest fad: Reddi-wip.” Cereal tastes change, too. Lacey just finished a survey that shows a new favorite, Fruit and Yogurt Special K.

A recent trend in dining? Hot sauces! Thomas Sacchetti ’16 of Princeton, N.J., a physics and math major, loves hot sauce on his chicken sandwich. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

3. Stay Flexible

The servery features a marketplace model, where students take their food from one of several platforms — 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’s pie; plus the Bakery, Grill, and Choices, for alternatives such as gluten-free foods.

“We wanted versatility, and that has paid off.”

The �ֲ���ý team resisted the temptation to define the platforms by menu item. “We didn’t name a ‘taco station,’ for example,” Schwartz says. “We wanted versatility, and that has paid off.”

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

4. It’s a Classroom Too

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

“We live for this sort of thing because it allows us all to be part of a larger �ֲ���ý experience,” Schwartz says.

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

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

5. Know Your Chef

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

Now, chefs work at platforms out front. Speaking literally and figuratively, first cook Roland Theriault notes that “we’re on the same floor as everybody else.”

For first cook Roland Theriault, moving from the old kitchen in Chase Hall’s basement to Commons means that “we’re on the same floor as everybody else” — literally and figuratively. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

Theriault spent his first 19 years at �ֲ���ý 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 �ֲ���ý, and for the Dining Services chefs. It’s more than just a service relationship where students grill chefs on what’s in the sauce.

“It goes beyond that,” says Schwartz. “They can talk about home, studies, life, and what’s happening in their lives. Sometimes students just need an adult they can vent to.”

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 �ֲ���ý students take more ownership of their dining experience, they treat each serving like a course in a restaurant.

The only thing missing from this iconic Commons lunch scene are trays. They’re on the outs. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

“And that’s what we want,” Schwartz says. “We don’t want you to fill a tray so half the food gets cold while you eat the other half.”

New students still grab a tray and load up, but older students know better, Lacey says. “When you’ve been here awhile, you realize you don’t need to — you don’t want to!”

7. The �ֲ���ý Is Just a Starting Point

�ֲ���ý 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, ‘We own this.’”

A �ֲ���ý version of Iron Chef last spring yielded dishes like “Pita with Spiced Shredded Beef and Homemade Yogurt Sauce,” “Toasted Rosemary Borealis Turkey Sandwich,” and “Chicken Pasta Primavera.”

“They are invested in their food. They are always thinking about it,” Schwartz says. “And they don’t want a cafeteria experience. They want a dining experience.”

That takes creativity, she adds. “I equate it with being in your own kitchen. They feel comfortable enough to say, ‘We own this.’ And that’s wicked cool.”

Director of �ֲ���ý Dining Services Cheryl Lacey (left) and Assistant Vice President for Dining, Conferences and Campus Events Christine Schwartz. Known for bringing a sense of fun to the nationally recognized �ֲ���ý dining operation, the duo donned lobster-claw boppers for a recent photo shoot. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

Leading a team of more than 100 that serves more than a million meals a year, the two executives in charge of the �ֲ���ý College dining operation will share lessons from their lives and careers in a Q&A at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7, in the Fireplace Lounge in the �ֲ���ý Commons, 136 Central Ave.

In the hourlong Purposeful Work Unplugged discussion, titled Behind the Napkin Board: Big Business, Right Here on Campus, Darby Ray, director of the Harward Center for Community Partnerships at �ֲ���ý, will interview Christine Schwartz, assistant vice president for dining, conferences and events, and Cheryl Lacey, director of dining services.

The discussion will explore work, career paths and finding purpose at �ֲ���ý.

The Purposeful Work Unplugged series is open to the public at no cost. Sponsored by the Purposeful Work initiative at �ֲ���ý, the series presents notable alumni, staff, faculty and guests in reflection about careers and traits that support meaningful work. For more information, please call 207-786-6128.

A native of New York, Schwartz came to �ֲ���ý in 1997 as associate director of dining services, became dining director in 2002 and in 2012 took the helm of the Dining, Conferences and Campus Events office. Her �ֲ���ý achievements include overseeing the creation of the college’s dining Commons, which opened in 2008, and playing a central role in making �ֲ���ý a nationally recognized leader in sustainable food service practices.

Schwartz earned a bachelor’s degree in social science at Lynchburg College, in Virginia, where she started her food service career, first as a student worker and then as catering manager. She has also held collegiate dining positions at Sweet Briar College, in Virginia, and at St. Mary’s College in Maryland.

Lacey grew up in rural Maine. The first member of her immediate family to attend college, she graduated from Middlebury with a double major in psychology and literary studies. Though Lacey had intended to pursue a career in psychology, working in dining services as a student gave her a passion for collegiate dining.

After graduation, she worked in Middlebury Dining Services for 14 years before trading in the glorious Green Mountains for the dramatic coast of Maine. She joined �ֲ���ý’ Dining Services in 1998 and became director in 2012.

The Fellows with the have announced a $5,000 grant to �ֲ���ý College Dining Services for its comprehensive approach to food service sustainability, and have named Director of Dining Services Christine Schwartz as an HCFS Fellow.

�ֲ���ý was judged as having the best sustainability program from among 13 entrants nationwide, which included K-12 schools and higher educational institutions, health care and hospitality facilities.

“Every year the level of participation and interest in sharing sustainable practices continues to expand,” says Rick Cartwright, vice president, ITW Food Equipment Group, and HCFS Fellow. Cartwright said that “�ֲ���ý College stood out as a best-practice example showing a broad level of impact across many aspects of sustainability.”

Prompted by a generous gift from an anonymous donor, the opening of a new dining facility and the passion on the part of students to know more about the foods they were eating, �ֲ���ý College undertook a yearlong initiative to explore connections between the dining program, food and the educational mission of the college itself. “Nourishing Body and Mind: �ֲ���ý Contemplates Food” was launched in September 2008. Overall, �ֲ���ý College decreased energy consumption and water use, reduced solid waste, and implemented a Farm-to-Fork program, expanding the purchasing of local, sustainable foods. From these initiatives, �ֲ���ý College realized an annual saving totaling more than $80,000.

“�ֲ���ý, like many colleges, believes that the environment must be taken into consideration when purchasing, creating, delivering and serving food products. And our dining program has integrated environmental stewardship into every decision regarding dining and food services,” says Schwartz, who will help select future operations for grant recognition while serving as an HCFS Fellow. “We are committed to continuing to develop the �ֲ���ý Contemplates Food initiative and are grateful for the funds from the HCFS to assist us in doing so.”

�ֲ���ý is the third recipient of the annual award. The winners in previous years were the University of California, Santa Cruz and Dickinson College.

Judges were particularly impressed with �ֲ���ý initiatives in environmental sustainability, according to Melissa Ezarik, managing editor of University Business, a national business magazine for higher education based in Norwalk, Conn.

“With a full 82 percent of waste diverted from the waste stream through composting, recycling, or a program where waste is sent to a local pig farmer, the building doesn’t even have enough waste to fill a dumpster,” Ezarik said. “So there isn’t one. And nearly one-third of the food budget is spent locally.”

Although the College’s New Dining Commons is a new facility, by student request the seating area maintains the feel of the old Commons. The servery was designed for easy traffic flow, capable of handling 500 or more within 30 to 45 minutes.

“We’re very excited to be recognized for something that is central to the student experience here at �ֲ���ý,” said Director or Dining Services Christine Schwartz. “We have a longstanding commitment to environmental sustainability at �ֲ���ý, and our new facility has allowed us to enhance our sustainability mission.”

Higher education institutions from across the nation submitted their dining programs for consideration with 65 entries received. Entries were evaluated by three editors and the magazine’s art director (also a college parent) as well as by a recent college grad, a graduate student and Neal A. Raisman, a higher education consultant and former college president.

The Dining Halls of Distinction program reflects excellence in all aspects of dining operations, including atmosphere, service, variety of offerings, guest satisfaction, environmental sustainability and financial stability. Other schools receiving a top designation are Boston University (large private institution); Bucknell University (medium/small private institution); and Virginia Commonwealth University (public institution).

The screening begins at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, in Olin Arts Concert Hall, 75 Russell St. The film is 90 minutes long.

appears in the film, which scrutinizes the food we eat and how it is produced. He’ll be joined in the �ֲ���ý event by college Dining Services Director Christine Schwartz. The event is open to the public at no cost. For more information, please call 207-786-6476.

Produced and directed by Robert Kenner, aims to reveal the inside story of American food, the corporations that often place greater value on profit than consumer health, and the regulatory agencies, like the USDA and FDA, that oversee the industry.

Called “an essential, indelible documentary” by Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers, Food, Inc. features interviews with such respected experts as Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, and Omnivore’s Dilemma author Michael Pollan. Food-industry figures striving to change the status quo, like Polyface Farms’ Joel Salatin and Stonyfield’s Hirshberg, are featured describing their efforts to improve the quality of the food Americans consume.

Now chairman, president and “CE-Yo” of Stonyfield, Hirshberg came to the organization in 1983 as director of the Rural Education Center, the small organic farming school (with only seven cows) that spawned the yogurt operation. A renowned speaker on topics such as sustainability, organic agriculture and socially responsible business practices, Hirschberg is author of the 2008 book Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World (Hyperion).

The Londonderry, N.H.-based Stonyfield joined forces with Groupe Danone in 2001 to create Stonyfield Europe, of which Hirschberg was named managing director in 2005. Today, Stonyfield Farm makes an estimated $320 million in annual sales while always keeping its social and environmental missions square in its sights.

Known for its progressive food-service practices, �ֲ���ý has announced a pioneering partnership with the highly regarded nutrition navigation system Guiding Stars. First implemented in 2006 and now used in some 1,400 grocery stores, the science-based Guiding Stars system rates foods with zero to three stars highlighting items according to good, better or best nutritional value, respectively. The �ֲ���ý partnership is Guiding Stars Licensing Company’s first with a college.

“At �ֲ���ý, we believe strongly in nourishing mind and body by offering food that’s fresh, delicious and healthful,” said Christine Schwartz, director of Dining Services. “Guiding Stars lets us do that much more effectively — it gives our customers an easy guide to enhance their menu choices.”

By Allison Lizars ’11

�ֲ���ý Dining Services has received a statewide award honoring commitment to the employment of people with disabilities.

At an Oct. 30 symposium in Freeport, , a partnership of Maine businesses striving to advance the employment of people with disabilities, presented �ֲ���ý with the annual Workforce Achievement Award.

Christine Schwartz, Dining Services director, accepted the award for �ֲ���ý.

Also known as the “Just Do It” award, the Workforce Achievement Award recognizes Maine businesses that are especially dedicated to and effective in this important cause.

Amie Parker, a human resources manager at �ֲ���ý, credits Schwartz with a powerful commitment to hiring employees with disabilities. Schwartz “not only works to ensure that these individuals feel a sense of inclusion,” Parker says, but “actively works to hire and retain employees with developmental disabilities.

“Because of Schwartz’s efforts, our workforce is more diverse and richer than ever,” says Parker.

�ֲ���ý and its Dining Services have proclaimed Nourishing Body and Mind: �ֲ���ý Contemplates Food as a theme for this academic year. The initiative celebrates �ֲ���ý’ dining and food-procurement practices; spotlights the college’s unusually high use of local foods and beverages — 28 percent; and calls for heightened awareness across campus of the consequences of individual food choices.

�ֲ���ý has been recognized nationally for its innovative approach to educational food services, particularly in terms of environmental sustainability. Dining Services received Renew America’s National Award for Sustainability in 1999 and 2000, and in 1999 received the Christopher and Dana Reeve Award for Environmental Leadership.

In March 2002, Farming magazine held �ֲ���ý up as a model of institutional cooperation with local growers.

In 2001, a �ֲ���ý culinary team won a bronze medal in the Seventh Annual Governor’s Great Taste of Maine lobster recipe competition — the first time a collegiate dining team placed in the contest. The �ֲ���ý entry, grilled lobster-stuffed crepes with baby shrimp hollandaise and fresh Maine blueberry and blackberry compote, placed third in a field of 100 recipes submitted by well-known dining establishments throughout the state.