With the upcoming departures of David Henry and Robin Hungerford, I’m writing to provide an update on interim Dining leadership and future planning. As you may have seen, we recently posted three senior-level positions: Executive Director, Director of Residential Dining and Associate Director for Hospitality Services, and will be moving into the recruitment and hiring processes in the upcoming weeks. I am committed to ensuring we select the right fit for all three positions to help lead Dining and plan for the future.

 

In the meantime, with these critical vacancies in the leadership team leaving a large workload needing attention, I have asked Marcus Van Vleet and Lanette Dickerson to step up and help fill some of the gaps for the upcoming months. They have already taken on much of the day-to-day operation and will continue to pick up more as David and Robin transition out in the upcoming weeks.

 

•    Lanette has taken on the responsibility, management and daily oversight for the culinary teams and program operation across Dining. Ryan Nagby, Jeniffer Valenzuela, Sean Layne, and a newly created position for Lothian culinary are all now reporting to her. She will also oversee the Early Childhood Services meal program and our Bakery Commissary. Further, Lanette will assist with other administrative duties and help represent Dining at the various meetings and workgroups.

 

•    Marcus is overseeing critical items such as staffing needs/management, budgets, HR items and various projects. He will also assist me with work that David was involved with and pick up some of the communication, outreach and follow-ups. Along with Lanette, Marcus will also represent Dining in a variety of areas and ways and serve as the primary contact for many high-level Dining items.

 

Together, Lanette and Marcus will continue to work on filling our critical team vacancies over the upcoming months to get us in a better position for fall. Additionally, Bob Getman, previously a General Manager in Dining Retail, will be returning July 1 in a limited retiree role to assist us with starting up the N. District Market and other critical work in the retail area. Bob’s presence and expertise will lighten some of the burden on Marcus to help him be able to focus on other areas in Dining.

 

We have a lot ahead of us, and I am confident that Lanette and Marcus will lead the Dining team with enthusiasm, flexibility and grace. They have my full support, and I look forward to working with them more closely. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank David and Robin for their many years of service to UCR and countless hours of hard work, especially during the pandemic when the hospitality world truly turned upside down. On behalf of Auxiliary Services and UCR, I wish them much happiness and success with their respective next chapters of retirement (David) and a new role outside of university food service operations (Robin).