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Friday, Nov 29, 2024

Atwater dining to close Winter 2010

Author: Derek Schlickeisen

As the global economic crisis continues to chip away at the College's finances, President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz announced Jan. 29 that the school hopes to save at least $1.5 million in coming years by ending regular meal service at Atwater Dining Hall and making other cuts to Dining Services.

The Jan. 29 announcement also included an immediate closure of Rehearsals Cafe; in the Kevin P. Mahaney Center for the Arts, a reduction in catering services for on-campus events and changes to operating hours at the Grille and MiddXpress Convenience Store. Nonetheless, the College's Chief Financial Officer Patrick Norton said that the most financially significant move was the decision to close Atwater, explaining that the venue would be home to the language table program and other special events beginning in Winter Term 2010.

Together, the changes in service will save money by allowing for a reduction in Dining Services' staff by 27 full-time employees through a combination of early retirement packages, reassignment to other jobs on campus and regular attrition (leaving newly vacant posts unfilled).

"We feel the changes that we are making and the way that we are communicating the changes represent the right course of action," said Norton. "Our goal is to be as transparent as possible."

Ian Martin, head chef at Atwater, explained that several factors were at work in the decision to close Atwater to regular dining as opposed to Ross or Proctor (which will re-open in place of FIC next fall), including its status as the smallest and least centrally-located of the three. Atwater will also require little modification for use as a special events venue, and has been used in the past for parties thrown by Atwater Commons and senior classes.

Martin said that he and his employees were informed of the changes in a meeting on the afternoon of Jan. 29, prior to Liebowitz's campus-wide email.

"I know I appreciated hearing this from my bosses instead of reading it," he said.

Director of Dining Services Matthew Biette said that the renovation of Proctor and a smaller expansion of Ross should prevent students from feeling any ill-effects of the Atwater closure.

"The lines should not be any longer and may perhaps be shorter than they are now," he said. "Proctor will have more seats and five different areas to sit: the main area, the mezzanine/balcony, behind the dishroom, the Redfield room and the Wood Stove lounge. Each will have a very different feel."

"We will continue to cook from scratch, use quality ingredients and make items that you the students, enjoy," he added.

Martin and Biette both made a point of stressing that wasting food and removing dishes from the dining halls also hurts Dining Services' bottom line.

"It is shameful and depressing to see how much food comes back to the dish room that gets thrown away every single meal," Martin said. "Ditto on the dishes we collect at every break and at the end of the semester in the dorms. Neither is a necessary expense, and both could be immediately changed by thoughtful participants in the meal plan."


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