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Duke Names New Head of Dining Services

Robert Coffey has directed award-winning college dining programs during a 24-year career

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New Duke dining director Robert Coffey

Robert
Coffey, who has directed award-winning college dining programs during a 24-year
career, has been named the new director of Duke's dining services,
which delivers 18,500 meals a day to students, faculty, staff and visitors.
Coffey will begin at Duke Feb. 27.

"We
have set a goal to elevate the Duke dining experience to be the world-class
equal of the educational experience," said Rick Johnson, assistant vice
president of student affairs for housing, dining and residence life.
"Robert is the right person to lead us there."

Coffey
was hired after a national search that included students, dining services
personnel, faculty, senior administrators and others. Because a majority of the
meals served go to students, their input was central to the hiring process,
Johnson said.

"Students
were very impressed by Robert's commitment to incorporating student feedback
and his extensive dining management track record," said Duke Student Government
President Pete Schork. "We're looking forward to working with Robert."

Coffey
understands the challenges associated with meeting the varied needs of a large
and diverse population with high expectations. Under his leadership at Virginia
Tech, that operation finished in the top 3 of The Princeton Review's Best
Campus Food rankings five years running, including No. 1 rankings in 2008 and
2010. The dining team also received the prestigious Ivy Award from Restaurants
and Institutions Magazine in 2009.

"The
dining experience plays such a major role in campus life and I'm very anxious
to explore how Duke Dining can continually provide high-quality services while
helping build community in collaboration with the new house system,"
Coffey said. "I feel privileged to have the opportunity to serve this
great university and campus community. I look forward to getting to know the
student body and collaborating with student dining advisory committee and the
many talented people in Student Affairs to exceed our customer
expectations."

Coffey
is currently resident district manager for the University of South Carolina,
where he manages a $30 million operating budget, numerous venues, an
award-winning catering department and a team of 1,100 employees that serves
more than 6 million meals a year. Prior to his current position, Coffey worked
in dining services at Virginia Tech, Greensboro College, the University of
North Carolina at Greensboro and Longwood College in Virginia. He holds
certificates from the Culinary Institute of America, the National Restaurant
Association, the Food Service Association and many other organizations.

"We've
made great strides in dining services over the past couple of years," said
Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs. "We've got a lot of big
projects underway that will require creative thinking and execution as we
renovate spaces and introduce new vendors. We're looking forward to having
Robert's leadership as part of the Duke team."