The Journal

Issue date: 9/7/06 Section: LifeStyle

Media Credit: Jennifer Wenger Brad Woodroffe (left), director of dining services, assists creative writing freshman Matthias Muutuki (right) as he carefully pours batter into the waffle iron to make his own waffles for lunch Sept. 1 in Marletto's.

In his office off in the back corner of Marletto's Marketplace, Brad Woodroffe, director of dining services, sits quietly amidst beige walls, a few shelves of books and his desk. He rummages through the stack of papers that seem to be a permanent fixture on his desk. It is not quite the setting that would make one think this man is the head of anything, let alone an entire department. Brad Woodroffe is exactly that, though. He is the director of dining
services at Webster, the top of the food chain.

Most of his time is spent moving between Marletto's Marketplace, the Crossroads, Jazzman's Cafe and Cafe a la Cart, popping into the kitchens and behind the counters to make sure everyone is doing what they should be doing.

Woodroffe is responsible for a multitude of tasks. He supervises and manages daily operations at each dining location, which means a lot of footwork and a lot of checking up
on employees.

He also is responsible for maintaining good communication with students, which he maintains through comment cards and casual conversations, as well as maintaining a working relationship with administrators. Money and financial planning also are two things that fall under Woodroffe's care. He makes sure the dining facilities have enough food and the money to pay for it. Basically, he is the top man when it comes to food at Webster.

Woodroffe is not actually a Webster employee. Although he is a major part of the university, he is employed by Sodexho,
a food and facilities management service who serves clients in Canada, Mexico and the
United States.

"There is no promotion of Sodexho and no logos because we want people to understand that we're part of the community," Woodroffe said. "It's not about who we work for; it's that we're part of the community. That's what is important."

Woodroffe took his current position in November 2005 after the departure of Joe Harvey, the previous director of dining services. Woodroffe is not exactly new to Webster, though. He held the same position during the 1998-1999 school year.

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