Jon Webster, executive director of hospitality services announced today that Joe Sidoni, longtime associate director of catering in Food Services, has accepted a new role as the food and beverage director at Drumlins Country Club. Paula Elerick will step into the catering position vacated by Sidoni in the Syracuse University Food Services department.
The move is a result of the Auxiliary Services department’s effort to effectively share resources between campus food service operations and Drumlins. Drumlins recently insourced its food and beverage operations after relying on a third-party operator for many years. The new system required a seasoned management presence to develop the program, the success of which will benefit both Drumlins members and the broader Syracuse University community.
“This is a move that will allow for Drumlins to realize the true potential of their food and beverage program while simultaneously increasing the operational efficiency of our department as a whole,” said Webster. “It’s about putting our people in places where they will succeed and utilizing our staff’s diverse skill sets to operate all aspects of the business in a manner that best serves our customers and the University.”
Sidoni will assume responsibility for food and beverage operations at the country club, home to Bistro 1926, a poolside “snack shack,” and a robust catering and events operation.
Elerick, who started her tenure at Syracuse University in September, brings over 20 years of catering experience to the University’s Catering Services team, most notably at Turning Stone and Sodexo. Most recently, she was the Regional Director of Operations for Sodexo’s college and university accounts in the Northeast. She will oversee a re-structure of the University’s catering department, which has seen demand for its services return to pre-pandemic levels this fall.
Webster acknowledged that this is a particularly difficult time for Catering Services. Demand has risen as the entire Food Services team has faced the same labor shortage as their peers throughout the industry. He envisions a “re-set” for the department. Looking forward, the next step will be searching for and hiring a chef dedicated solely to the University’s catering services.
“In order to better serve our campus and to take care of our employees, we’re going to look at everything we do and make sure we’re doing right by all of our stakeholders,” Webster said. “Our goal is to offer top-quality food and customer service at all of our outlets, and these steps will help get us there.”
On November 1, Syracuse University’s longtime home in New York City, the Joseph I. Lubin House, became part of the portfolio of operations housed under the University’s Auxiliary Services business unit. Lubin House will join a group of Syracuse University properties, among them the Minnowbrook Conference Center and the Syracuse University Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center, which fall under the direction of Vernetta Kinchen, executive director of housing and lodging.
The move was undertaken in part due to the desire to group University assets of a similar purview in the same area of operations, which will allow Kinchen and her team to utilize their expertise in lodging to revitalize the property and its rooms.
The Lubin House has also welcomed a new director of operations. Jonathan Teng began his tenure at Lubin House on November 8, 2021. Teng comes to Syracuse University from TengWirth, a software company offering a customer service platform for the hospitality industry. Teng will oversee a staff of eight people at the Lubin House and will report to Kinchen, who will remain based in Syracuse.
The new leadership team at Lubin House will look to improve operations and programming, along with adding amenities that will support an enhanced experience for guests. The University’s Campus Development and Facilities Operations unit, led by Pete Sala, will take the lead on all needed capital project and engineering upgrades to the building.
In the meantime, the building remains a home to several University departments, among them, Advancement and External Affairs, the Office of Alumni Engagement, Admissions, and the Chancellor’s Office. Staff members traveling to New York on University business can choose to stay at Lubin House overnight.
All staff, faculty, and student groups are encouraged to take advantage of the Lubin House’s accommodations and its incredible location on the Upper East Side, just off of Central Park. For more information about booking your stay, please contact Vernetta Kinchen at vlkinche@syr.edu.
Construction is well underway on the second module of the Syracuse University Libraries’ storage facility on South Campus, which will house some of the University’s most treasured multimedia and special collections holdings. The 15,000-square-foot facility will include cool and cold storage vaults with carefully regulated humidity controls to provide optimal environmental conditions to safely store and prolong the life of materials that are crucial to the teaching and scholarship happening each day on Syracuse University’s campus.
Read the full story at Syracuse University News.
The 43rd annual Mountain Goat Run will take place Sunday, Oct. 24. The 10-mile course traverses a large section of the City of Syracuse, including roads on campus and around the University area. Members of the campus community should be advised that temporary road closures will take place between 9:45 a.m. and noon on the day of the race.
Runners will enter the University area from East Colvin Street by Manley Field House, necessitating road closures along Comstock Avenue. They will turn left on University Place through Thornden Park, exiting the park down Madison Street, and then turning right on South Crouse Avenue and left onto East Genesee Street.
Race organizers ask neighbors to proceed with caution and allow for additional travel time to your destination if they are traveling near the routes. Organizers also encourage community members to cheer on the race participants and join in the fun at the finish line.
Food Services has hired a new executive chef with deep roots in the Central New York region. Chef Eamon Lee brings over three decades of experience in the food services industry to the University. In the near term, Eamon will look to create a culinary training program for the Food Services department. He will also be listening to student, staff and faculty feedback as his team crafts menus and concepts for the University’s dining centers, cafes, and catering and concessions operations.
“Eamon has a depth of experience, passion and energy we are lucky to have at Syracuse University,” says Jon Webster, executive director of hospitality. “He has worked in food service operations of all sizes. He has deep roots in and a strong passion for all things Syracuse.”
Read the full interview at Syracuse University News.
When Shirley Trendowski ’05, ’07 (C.A.S.) G’08 was raising her family, everyday life took very careful planning.
Trendowski and her husband, Ray, are the parents of six children. In 1995, after being a stay-at-home mom for 15 years, Shirley came to work for Food Services with one purpose—to take advantage of the University’s dependent tuition benefit. Her youngest child was 2 years old at the time. After a year, she decided to start taking classes herself using the remitted tuition benefit. She began by taking courses that interested her, two classes per semester, with the goal of earning an associate’s degree.
Read the full story at Syracuse University News.
When her son Chase was diagnosed with autism in the summer of 2005, Clarise Shelby-Coleman, who works in Campus Safety and Emergency Management Services as a residential community safety officer, searched for community support and resources that would empower her with a better understanding of Chase’s diagnosis so she could help him live a full and fulfilling life.
Back then, autism spectrum disorder, which encompasses a range of conditions related to individual differences in sensory, perceptional and cognitive processes, was not as broadly shared, discussed or celebrated as it is now. “When Chase was diagnosed in 2005, the chances of being diagnosed with autism were 1 in 151. Today it’s 1 in 68, and 1 in 45 for males,” Shelby-Coleman says. “Tomorrow a caregiver will get a diagnosis and wonder, as I did, ‘where are all the adults with autism? How do I prepare him for this world?’”
Read the full story at Syracuse University News.
Scott Kemp has been named Syracuse University treasurer. Kemp’s appointment, which began in September 2021, was approved by the executive committee of the University’s Board of Trustees. Kemp will report to Gwenn Judge, interim senior vice president and chief financial officer.
“Scott has provided steady and strong fiscal leadership throughout his time at the University,” says Judge. “We are fortunate to have someone with Scott’s expertise and skill set already here and prepared to take on this critically important role.”
Read the full story at Syracuse University News.
Syracuse University today announced the members of a new search committee for the next associate vice president and chief of campus safety and emergency management services (CSEMS).
Following the July announcement of the extension of the search, Allen Groves, senior vice president for the student experience, stepped into the role of search committee chair and assembled a new group of students, faculty and staff charged with finding a pool of candidates for the chief role.
Read the full story at Syracuse University News.
