News

Highlight the Heroes Part 3: Staff Members Display Ingenuity, Determination, Teamwork in Face of COVID-19 Pandemic

As the novel coronavirus took hold in the United States and locally nearly a year ago, many members of the campus community had to reimagine countless processes, solve new and challenging problems, work together in ways previously unheard of, and step up in ways large and small to continue protecting the health and well-being of those who call Syracuse home. Our series continues with the stories of people and teams that have risen to the task and shown what it means to be Orange.

This chapter of the series includes the incredible work of BFAS team members in Materials Distribution and Mail Services and Food Services.

Read the full story at Syracuse University News.

Building Local Profile: GL Imprinting

Syracuse University’s Building Local initiative, launched in May 2019, sought to expand participation of Central New York businesses—including those owned by women, minorities, veterans and others (referred to collectively as XBEs)—in University purchasing decisions.

Since the launch of the initiative, several local businesses have become newly-licensed partners of the University, selling products adorned with Syracuse University trademarks. GL Imprinting, based out of the South Side Innovation Center on South Salina Street, secured its internal license with the University in February 2020. Since that time, the business has provided thousands of branded products to the University, including pens, cinch sacks and masks.

Read the full story at Syracuse University News.

By the Numbers: The New Schine Dining Experience

The newly-renovated Schine Dining area has exceeded all expectations in its first 30 days of operation. Food Services staff has remained busy from the moment the building opens each day to well after it closes it each night. Led by Sue Bracy, Food Services director of retail and catering operations, 64 professional union staff and 140 student employees serve thousands of hungry customers each day, all while managing social distancing and public health guidelines around in-person seating and dining.

The success at Schine has been shared at every location. Both CoreLife and Halal Shack have reported that their locations at Schine are the busiest locations in their entire chains. In the beginning, CoreLife staff from its flagship location were on hand to assist because of the incredible volume – and they ended up staying for weeks to pitch in!

In the coming weeks and months, Food Services will look to expand its workforce at Schine, enabling its restaurants to extend their hours as new staff are hired and trained. But for now, the team will take a quick minute to breathe and celebrate the successes of their first month!

In its first month, Schine Dining:

  • Served 70,000 customers
  • Earned $630,000 in sales, compared to $274,000 in the same month in 2019
  • Dunkin’ served 8,748 breakfast sandwiches and 8,000 iced coffees (and counting!)
  • Chocolate Pizza Company sold 900 chocolate pretzel rods and 144 slices
  • Halal Shack’s cooks prepared 7,500 pounds of chicken
  • Panda Express distributed 12,400 fortune cookies
  • CoreLife Eatery serves over 500 bowls a day in seven and a half hours. That means their staff can prepare a bowl in less than one minute!
  • Food Services staff prepped 80 pounds of sweet potatoes each day for CoreLife
  • The staff needed to purchase 36 new stanchions for social distancing and line control
  • Four times a day, a truck full of dirty dishes is shipped from Schine to the commissary to be washed, as the dish room on-site is not large enough to keep up!

Highlight the Heroes Part 2: Staff Members Display Ingenuity, Determination, Teamwork in Face of COVID-19 Pandemic

As the novel coronavirus took hold in the United States and locally nearly a year ago, many members of the campus community had to reimagine countless processes, solve new and challenging problems, work together in ways previously unheard of, and step up in ways large and small to continue protecting the health and well-being of those who call Syracuse home. Our series continues with the stories of people and teams that have risen to the task and shown what it means to be Orange.

This chapter of the series includes the incredible work of BFAS team members in Environmental Health and Safety Services, Facilities Services, and Purchasing.

Read the full story at Syracuse University News.

Connolly Named General Manager of the Syracuse University Sheraton

This week, Kris Klinger, Associate Vice President of Auxiliary Services, announced that Kevin Connolly has been named the new general manager of the Syracuse University Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center, effective immediately. Connolly has acted as the interim general manager of the hotel since June 2020.

For Klinger, the decision to take away the interim label was simple. “The leadership and initiative Kevin has displayed as the interim general manager made promoting him to the permanent position an easy decision for the Board of Directors to approve,” said Klinger.

Upon assuming the interim general manager role last summer, Kevin faced two immediate challenges wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic: declining hotel bookings and event cancellations and the new task of housing and feeding hundreds of Syracuse University students entering quarantine at the hotel. He and his staff had to adapt on the fly to implement strict health and safety protocols and offer an enhanced level of customer service to students who took up residence in the hotel for 14 days at a time.

Connolly has also taken the lead of the ongoing food and beverage transition at Drumlins Country Club. After its previous café and catering operator left at the end of 2020, the club turned to an insourced solution – merging its food and beverage operations with those of the Sheraton. Kevin leads a group of University employees in legal, real estate, purchasing, trademark licensing, marketing and communications, and food and beverage operations in a charge to install the new café and catering team before the club opens for golf in Spring 2021.

In the months ahead, looking beyond the immediate COVID-19 crisis, Connolly will lead the Syracuse University Sheraton through a renovation to its lobby, restaurant, bar, and conference spaces in an effort to tie the hotel more closely to new University design and branding elements. Visitors will also notice changes to the exterior of the hotel, including in the parking circle, where updates to landscaping and signage will reinforce the hotel’s ties to the University.

“I’m looking forward to leading the hotel into an exciting era of greater cooperation with Syracuse University, and working with my team to create the best hospitality experience in the region,” said Connolly.

Connolly has worked at the Syracuse University Sheraton for two years. Prior to his time as the interim general manager, he worked at the hotel’s director of sales and marketing. Previously, Connolly worked as the director of sales and marketing at other Central New York hotels, including the Ithaca Marriott Downtown and the DoubleTree by Hilton Syracuse. He is a 2017 graduate of the Leadership Greater Syracuse Program.

In year of COVID-19 challenges, SU employees have worked nonstop

Mark Tewksbury recalls seeing just four cars on his way to work at Syracuse University last March.

Tewksbury, who is the director of residence hall dining and Dome operations for Food Services, has been working to deliver meals to students in quarantine and those who had to stay on campus during breaks since the coronavirus pandemic hit. He was among the group of SU employees who continued working even after SU’s campus shut down last spring.

“When the pandemic began back in March, most people were afraid to leave their house,” Tewksbury said. “But our staff just stepped up. There were 600 students on campus who couldn’t get home, and nobody questioned.”

Read the full story at dailyorange.com.

Highlight the Heroes Part 1: Staff Members Display Ingenuity, Determination, Teamwork in Face of COVID-19 Pandemic

As the novel coronavirus took hold in the United States and locally nearly a year ago, many members of the campus community have had to reimagine countless processes, solve new and challenging problems, work together in ways previously unheard of and stepped up in ways large and small to continue protecting the health and well-being of those who call Syracuse home.

The first in a series, here are the stories of just a few people and teams that have risen to the task and shown what it means to be Orange. Do you know someone who has been a COVID Hero? Let us know and we may spotlight them in an upcoming story!

Read the full story at Syracuse University News.

What Faculty and Staff Can Discover at the Transformed Schine Student Center

It’s called the “Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center,” but the newly transformed building offers a place for faculty, staff and all the members of the University community to gather, eat, socialize, work and more.

Please note: during the pandemic, Schine Student Center has implemented health and safety protocols to adhere to public health guidelines.

From Decaf to Discounts

Seasoned campus citizens have known it as the Bookstore, but along with its continued focus on academic resources, the renamed and reimagined Campus Store has new University-branded apparel, a late-night food and grocery market and a Dunkin’ coffee stand off the center atrium. One thing hasn’t changed—faculty and staff get a 10 percent discount on many items. The Campus Store also offers education-priced computers and accessories.

Read the full story at Syracuse University News.

Boost Your Immune System With These Expert Tips (and Recipes!)

A healthy immune system is important throughout the year, but even more so during cold and flu season and while we remain at-risk of contracting COVID-19. In honor of National Nutrition Month, celebrated in March, we tapped into campus experts in health and nutrition to gather tips for bolstering your immune system while we await warmer days ahead this sping.

Many of us intuitively reach for the orange juice or crave warm chicken soup when we feel a cold coming on. This could be because our body is craving certain nutrients that can help boost immunity.

According to Ruth Sullivan, assistant director of nutrition management in Food Services, there are several nutrients that play a role in good immune system health.

Read the full story at Syracuse University News.

Explore Winter Activities on Campus

The Orange community is invited to enjoy winter and experience a variety of exciting programs and events. Explore other opportunities to build your unique Syracuse University student experience with the Be Involved Checklist.

“Programs and events welcome all skill levels and often include everything needed to participate. We’ve worked to support students’ experiences in a way that after making a reservation, they just have to focus on having fun,” shares Scott Catucci, Barnes Center at The Arch associate director for outdoor adventure, esports and student development. “With a variety of opportunities throughout the Spring 2021 semester, we encourage students to explore programs, events and to try new experiences.”

Read the full story at Syracuse University News.