In an attempt to improve student morale and Hopkins' standing in Princeton Review's national rankings of college dining services, the dining program on the Homewood campus will undergo a series of changes over the next 14 months, the Office of Dining Services reports.
Seeking to put an end to student complaints as well as bolster dining service rankings, changes in dining venues and meal plans and the possibility of a contract with a new food management company are expected to occur.
Dave Furhman, the director of Dining Services, said the goal was for Hopkins to make the Princeton Review's top-ten Best College Food list by 2008 and be in the top five by 2010.
Dean of Undergraduate Education and Vice Provost Paula Burger said that the changes also come as a result of seeking to realize recommendations set forth in the 2003 Commission on Undergraduate Education report. Burger said that the food hasn't improved since the CUE report was issued and "is not where it can be."
"Community building was a big theme of the CUE report and that's what we want eating on Homewood campus to be. Dining should be about conversation and camaraderie, not just food," Burger said.
The process, also called"The Dining Vision" began 15 months ago when the university hired Furhman and sent him on a two-week tour of college dining programs across the country.
Fuhrman visited 11 campuses in total, including Bowdoin College in Maine, which nabbed top honors from the Princeton Review of college food, and New York University, which didn't make the top ten but was important in studying meal plans in an urban environment where students have a plethora of independent dining options available.
"The dining experience was best at schools where it was treated as part of the undergraduate experience beyond sustenance and dining was recognized as part of the fabric of culture of the institution," Fuhrman said.
Great dining, Fuhrman said, consists of great food, great service and a great environment. Fuhrman said that the trio is possible only with up-to-date facilities, excellent culinary programs and a focus on quality over quantity of dining facilities. Fuhrman said that he created a brisk timetable for the overhaul of dining at Hopkins, keeping these guidelines in mind.
In the Spring of 2006, Terrace Court will close for extensive renovation and expansion at which point a temporary dining location will open for students living in the AMRs and Buildings A and B. In the fall of 2006, the newly-expanded Terrace will reopen in conjunction with the opening of Charles Commons.
Charles Commons will house an as-yet unnamed retail and dining facility. This new facility will have six different stations, including one equipped with a wood-fired brick oven and a late-night venue. Additionally, the dining area will be equipped with pool tables, sofas and a fireplace. The campus bookstore will also be relocated to Charles Commons, where in its expanded form it will include a Starbucks.
Once the new Charles Commons venue opens, the cafeteria in Wolman Hall will be permanently closed. However, if expansion plans proceed as scheduled, the front seating section of Wolman will reopen in November 2006 as an expanded version of The Depot, which will also include a bagel shop. Once the expanded Depot has opened, the Office of Dining Services will turn its attention to renovating Megabytes.
With these changes to the physical experience of dining at Hopkins comes an alteration of meal plan options and requirements. Currently, freshman and sophomores living in University residence halls must choose from three different meal plans, ranging from the "Constant Pass," which consists of 1000 blocks a semester and 200 points, to a low of 150 blocks and 500 points a semester. Upperclassmen and sophomores living in University-owned apartments can choose from the same three meal plans or opt out of University meal plans altogether.
Under the new system, all freshman will be required to buy into the same meal plan, consisting of 19 blocks a week and 200 points a semester.
Freshman Susana Rodriguez said the new proposal didn't have enough points to make up for the decline in blocks from her current plan, the constant pass. Rodriguez said that she eats in a dining hall "about once or twice a day" and that while she likes the idea of unlimited access to cafeterias she "wish[es she] had more points."
Another freshman felt the meal plan has too many blocks. "I hate eating in Terrace, but I feel like I have to because I don't want to run out of points -- and I have the least blocks possible. I could never eat there three times a day."
With an expanded Terrace and the expectation that freshman are using three blocks every weekday and two per day on the weekend, Furhman said he hopes that dining will bring the entire Freshman class together.
Under the new meal plan requirements, sophomores will be able to choose from a number of all-point plans, something that Furhman says they have been requesting for some time. Points could be used in Levering, Megabytes and the new Charles Commons venue.
The fact that these changes come in a year when Sodexho's campus services contract is up is no coincidence, Furhman said. Currently, Sodexho manages Terrace, Wolman, the Depot, Megabytes and Levering, and employs everyone who works in those venues. They do not manage vending services or Hillel dining. This year marks the end of Sodexho's current five-year contract with the University and the end of ten years of providing dining services to Hopkins.
Over the next two weeks, Dean of Student Life and Vice Provost Paula Burger will help select a diverse group of students and faculty to serve on the Food Contractor Committee. In November, the committee will put out an official Request for Proposals, which will begin the open bid process leading up to a new contract winner in March or April of 2006.
When asked how he predicted Sodexho would fare, Furhman said he doesn't "think Sodexho has had a great deal of direction on campus" but that since the school hadn't been clear about their direction, "we can't blame the contractors." He also noted that lately there have been "some big improvements." Furhman suspects that in addition to Sodexho, Aramark, Parkers, and other major food management companies will make a bid for the Hopkins contract.
Sodexho currently employs approximately 135 people on the Homewood campus, including a handful of students.
Furhman said that should the contract be given to a different company, they would have the opportunity to review and hire existing Sodexho employees. A union representative who works in Megabytes said that all the Sodexho employees were unionized. Should the contract change hands, they would keep their jobs.
