Following a nationwide search, Duke has hired a new director of dining services set to start Feb. 27.
With 24 years of experience in dining services, Robert Coffey, former senior associate director of housing and dining at Virginia Tech, is the second dining director to come to Duke from Virginia Tech in less than one year. Rick Johnson, who became Duke’s assistant vice president of housing and dining last Spring, worked alongside Coffey until February 2011, when both departed Virginia Tech. Both Johnson and Coffey worked at Virginia Tech for more than 15 years. Coffey is currently the resident district manager for the University of South Carolina.
“Virginia Tech is a multiple award-winning dining program, so I loved everything about what [Coffey] brings from Virginia Tech,” Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta said. “Between Rick’s very broad experience and Robert’s very detailed level of knowledge about the art and science of dining, I think we have a very formidable team. [Coffey] will hit the ground running and will start to get to know students very quickly.”
Although Coffey had only overseen dining services at the University of South Carolina for the past year, he praised the people and dining services at South Carolina and said leaving was more about the opportunity to lead dining services at Duke than it was about moving away from South Carolina. He said he hopes to bring Duke’s dining services on par with its academic reputation for excellence.
“I’ve always tried to keep an entrepreneurial spirit, and within dining we’re constantly having to change and stay ahead of the curve,” Coffey said. “I get to live that dream every day doing what I do here in campus dining. I can’t think of a more fun place to be.”
Coffey noted some unique aspects of Duke’s dining program that he has not seen at other campuses. He said he was impressed with how Duke has incorporated independent, outside vendors into the dining scene, as well as the diversity of the food selection.
Coffey’s hire comes after the departure of Jim Wulforst, former director of dining services for more than 15 years, who stepped down from his position in August 2011 and assumed the role of special assistant to Moneta, The Chronicle reported in August. Wulforst is no longer working with the University and as of this month, is now responsible for corporate food service for the Coca-Cola Company’s world headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., where he manages food service contracted vendors. Wulforst declined to comment.
The national search for Wulforst’s replacement began last Fall. The selection committee consisted of about half a dozen individuals, including administrators, faculty members and three students—Duke Student Government President Pete Schork, a senior, and Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee co-Chairs Jane Moore, a senior, and Beth Gordon, a junior. The students gave their feedback to Johnson, who made the ultimate decision.
Several members of the selection committee said they were impressed with Coffey’s dedication to students and extensive track record of dining services management.
“That was important for us,” Johnson said. “If we want to be great, we’ve got to hire people who know what that looks like.”
In his years working alongside Coffey, Johnson noted that Coffey is committed to serving students. Several other former colleagues of Coffey mentioned this aspect of his management style.
“I worked with Robert for 13-plus years, and he is a huge advocate of the student voice, as well as an ambassador for the employees,” said Ted Faulkner, who now holds Coffey’s former position of senior associate director of dining services at Virginia Tech. “We hated to lose him here, but he’ll do a great job down there.”
Under Coffey’s leadership, Virginia Tech won many national dining awards, including the student-voted top school for dining services in 2008 and 2010 in The Princeton Review and the 2009 Ivy Award from Restaurants and Institutions Magazine, for which the school competed with dining teams at restaurants nationwide. Parents and College, an online college admissions guide, also ranked Virginia Tech third in the “Top 10 Best College Eats” category.
“The awards that Virginia Tech won, to use a sports analogy, [are] similar to the national championship or the Super Bowl,” Johnson said. “Duke hasn’t won those. Duke certainly could. What those awards are is a reflection of the dining program and student satisfaction with the dining program. That’s what Duke is striving for, so awards will come later to recognize a great program. The great program comes first.”
Of 19,000 students who purchase Virginia Tech meal plans, the majority—approximately 10,000—live off campus and are not required to purchase the plans, said Bo Hart, the 2010-2011 student body president at Virginia Tech, adding that the high number of people who purchase a meal plan is a testament to how much Virginia Tech students love the food in their dining halls.
“You’ve got quite a team, and I’m very jealous,” Hart said of Coffey and Johnson. “Now I work for [Virginia Tech] admissions, and one of our key selling points is how great our food is. All I can tell you is that you guys got a great steal, and I wish both were still at Virginia Tech.”
Duke received more than 100 applications for the dining director position during the search process and used an executive recruiter to narrow the field of candidates. Johnson conducted phone interviews with 10 applicants. After another round of phone interviews with four candidates, Johnson invited three finalists to campus for interviews in December. He said that each of the final three candidates was very qualified for the position.
The committee was looking for someone with innovation, compassion and a passion for dining services, Johnson said.
The finalists met with the selection committee and went to dinner with the committee’s student members. The finalists also met with staff members from dining, campus police, parking, athletics and other relevant departments that concern dining services.
“Robert’s experience was unparalleled,” Schork said. “He really helped build Virginia Tech into one of the nation’s greatest dining programs. Robert’s track record of leading successful dining programs was his biggest selling point.”
Schork noted that any concerns the students had about candidates were taken seriously.
“I definitely think our perspective was taken seriously,” he said. “We often asked the first questions and asked a high percentage of questions in the selection committee.”
In addition to USC and Virginia Tech, Coffey has worked at Greensboro College, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Longwood University—where he owned his own on-campus restaurant.
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