Dining Services is undergoing a significant transition from Aramark to in-house services. It is a new realignment at the top and a new era for students in their dining experience at Kent State.
The future composition of Kent State Dining Services has begun, and the shift will officially commence on July 1 and coincide with the opening of the fall semester.
Currently, committees are working towards addressing the many details of the switchover, but a reorganization to support the growth has already taken place.
Key changes include:
Jill Jenkins to Executive Director of Residence Services and Dining
Michael O’Karma to Senior Director, Finance and Technology, Student Affairs
David Taylor to Senior Director, Residence Services
Assistant Vice President for Student Services Gary Goldberg says the common denominator for all is that their tenures and institutional knowledge will help onboard and assimilate new staff without those connections and experiences.
“Residence Services does an amazing job connecting with, listening to, and responding to student needs,” she said. “One of the most important, initial pieces to my role and this transition is ensuring we can create the same opportunity to leverage student voices in our dining program!”
Goldberg says Jenkins is a true asset to the new leadership realignment.
“Jill is a campus leader held in high regard for her honesty, hard work, and leadership of a high-functioning area with many ties to student success and retention,” he said. “Dining will benefit from that success, and that was a factor in this reorganization."
O’Karma says the move to Kent State handling Dining Services will ensure a smoother process when it comes to the technological aspect of operations, along with a more hands-on approach.
“The opportunity to enhance student services as they relate to Dining Services, but also technology services across the division are what I am looking forward to most,” he said. “That, and the ability to provide on-site support and student facing solutions with our IT infrastructure.”
He also believes that the relationship between Dining Services and students will take on a much better approach in the long run.
“The ability to be nimble and respond to student demands was impacted with systems not being owned or maintained by 5X,” he said. “Moving forward, our capacity [at Kent State] to follow trends throughout the country and provide enhancements will be increased.”
Goldberg is happy to have O’Karma on his team moving forward.
“Michael brings knowledge beyond his years with special acumen around finances and technology that again make the transition easier,” he said. “One that can benefit from his knowledge of campus cybersecurity, financial reporting structure, and experience with contracts.”
“It’s an opportunity to move forward and continually improve operations,” he said. “Our students have (rightly) high expectations, and there is a motivated team to provide them a wonderful experience.”
Taylor also says that living on campus is about the whole experience, not just the Residence Services part of it.
“The imagery a student conjures when thinking about living on campus is not only about their room, but also the whole series of experiences, including the dining component,” he said. “My hope is that housing and dining will see increased communications, allowing our students to benefit from decisions.”
Goldberg says Taylor’s experience in residential services will go a long way in helping to advance the new era in dining.
“Dave Taylor was poised to take on more,” said Goldberg. “This opportunity is a byproduct of his readiness and the gap in residential leadership given Jill’s dual role.”
As Dining Services continues to make essential changes over the coming weeks and into the summer, O’Karma believes this will do nothing less than help to provide an optimum experience for students moving forward.
“This allows for us to be better financial stewards and optimize our spending and investment in a way that benefits students directly and indirectly,” he said.
Jenkins agreed, adding that although there is a lot of work and positions to fill by July 1, it will signal a new era in dining for students when it becomes a reality.
“I am looking forward to learning all things dining,” she said. “I am also looking forward to helping shape the dining program on our campuses!”
For more information on dining services, please visit /dining