William & Mary announces intent to award dining contract to Sodexo
W&M dining Students enjoy some of the new offerings available in the Sadler Center's expanded dining area at the beginning of the fall term. Photo by Stephen Salpukas
William & Mary announced Monday its intent to award the management contract for university dining services to Sodexo, Inc.
Sodexo, a leader in Quality of Life Services, was chosen through a competitive bidding process conducted by a dining services selection committee composed of staff and students with the assistance of the Office of Procurement.
“Sodexo presented a compelling vision that I am confident will produce a high quality dining program for students, faculty, staff, alumni and guests,” said Vice President for Administration Anna Martin. “Sodexo has proposed exciting and innovative programs and practices to take our student dining experience to the next level.”
As part of its winning bid, Martin said, Sodexo is providing $5 million in improvements to dining areas on campus over the term of their agreement. This will include enhancements to the university’s residential and retail dining program with attention to quality, global culinary trends, and sustainable practices in food service. Sodexo will also provide catering services to the campus, Martin added.
“We are excited to partner with William & Mary in so many areas,” said Tom Post, president, Sodexo Education-Campus, “It’s a great opportunity to leverage our award-winning leadership and experience in sustainability, diversity and wellness to help improve the quality of life on campus while also building an exceptional learning environment for students.”
The five-year contract, which will be signed and finalized in the coming weeks, will go into effect as of July 1, 2014. There will be options for an additional five years, Martin said.
Beginning immediately, and for the remainder of the current contract, the Sodexo transition team will work closely with William & Mary and Aramark management to ensure a smooth transition, she said.
In a message to campus, Martin thanked Aramark for its service to William & Mary. “Aramark employees have been an integral part of our campus community,” she said. “We greatly value their service to the College and the relationships we developed over the past two decades.”
Sodexo is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland and works with more than 850 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.
