Reprinted with permission.
UW-Stout photos / Left: North Point cafeteria on UW-Stout’s north campus opened in 2010. It is one of
several new or recently renovated campus dining facilities. Right: One of nearly 450 University Dining
Services employees helps a customer.
On Campus, Page 1F
Sept. 29, 2013
Campus dining services lauded
By UW-Stout News Bureau
MENOMONIE — With new and revamped restaurants and expanded menus, the food service at UWStout is getting two thumbs up from students.
In two recent surveys of students by Educational Benchmarking Inc., the university exceeded the
national average in every category, including food quality, service, dining environment and prices.
One survey was of students who live on campus and use campus dining plans. Out of 248 universities
in the survey, UW-Stout’s overall average was nearly a half-point higher than the national average.
Another EBI survey was of students who live on and off campus, eating in the cafeterias, student
center restaurants and other venues. UW-Stout beat the national average, sometimes significantly, for
91 universities in all nine question areas.
Ann Thies, director of University Dining Services, points to improvements made as a result of
numerous facility projects during the past five years as a key reason for the satisfied student
customers.
In 2009 the largest cafeteria on campus, Merle M. Price Commons, was updated as part of a building
renovation. In 2010 a new north campus cafeteria, North Point, opened. In 2012 all food venues in the
Memorial Student Center were rebuilt as part of a $19 million building renovation.
Reprinted with permission.
“With each renovation came a review of menus that were carefully crafted to reflect what customers
desire and the trends in the industry,” Thies said. “Much of the menu is focused on allowing
individual choices. Facilities were designed to deliver those menu items at clean, fresh and welcoming
venues.”
Quality, variety
UW-Stout’s survey results are up significantly since 2008, which was prior to facility upgrades. Food
services scored higher in food quality and in variety of places to eat. They also improved in six other
more specific aspects, such as dining room atmosphere, customer service and hours of operation.
Tressa Retallick, a senior from Eau Claire, has noticed the food service improvements in her four
years on campus. She said prices are reasonable — she can get a hot panini sandwich and chips in the
student center for $4.79 — and the service, cleanliness and food options are good.
She cited the make-your- own-sandwich bar at Merle M. Price Commons cafeteria, plenty of fresh
fruit, salad and vegetables and the student center’s vegetarian and gluten-free options. “I’ve always
been impressed with the quality and variety of the food,” said Retallick, who is majoring in hotel,
restaurant and tourism management.
University Dining Services is a self-contained UW-Stout operation, one of five in the UW System; the
others are at Madison, Milwaukee, Platteville and Stevens Point. Fiscal-year profits are returned to
UW-Stout.
On a typical day this fall, more than 7,000 UW-Stout customers are served on campus via menus and
recipes developed by 38 professional staff members and more than 400 part-time student employees.
“The philosophy of ‘here to serve our customers, not shareholders’ drives our decisions,” Thies said.
University Dining, a member of the National Association of College and University Food Services,
encourages professional development opportunities for staff members and ongoing feedback about
operations.
“It’s critical for the staff to be proactive in continuous improvement,” Thies said.
In addition to providing daily food services to the approximately 9,200 students, faculty, staff and
campus visitors, University Dining has a catering service for special events on and off campus,
including banquets, receptions and conferences.