Rick Johnson Named Head of Housing and Dining at Duke

Rick Johnson, who has 35 years experience managing housing and dining in higher education and in the hotel industry, has been named assistant vice president of housing and dining for Duke University, school officials announced Thursday. He will start his new job Jan. 31, 2011.

"We were most fortunate to be able to recruit the best," said Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta, who led the nationwide search. "Rick is a gifted leader who is committed to students and is nationally regarded for his work. There was overwhelming support from faculty, students, staff, senior administrators and others for his hire. Rarely do we see such consensus, and it was gratifying to see it for this role."

For the past 15 years, Johnson has been director of housing and dining services at Virginia Tech, where he is responsible for a residential system that houses 9,000 students and serves 18,000 dining customers. Johnson will occupy a new position at Duke that combines dining services, housing and residence life.

"It's a brand new position, and a brand new challenge," Johnson said. "Grouping these units together is the perfect combination to serve students well. There are great synergies among these areas that we can use to everyone's advantage."

"Duke is a world-class institution. The whole experience needs to be world class, and that includes dining, housing and residence life," Johnson said. "I look forward to working with the many talented people at Duke whose foremost commitment is to well-being of the students."

At Virginia Tech, Johnson has overseen construction and renovation of multiple residential and dining facilities on campus. Under his leadership, the university dining unit has received numerous accolades, including Princeton Review's Best Campus Dining in 2008 and again in 2010, and the VT Student Government Association 2010 Service Award.

"Awards simply mean that the students are receiving the experience they want, and that's the goal," Johnson said, giving great credit to his entire staff at Virginia Tech for the program's achievements. "Success comes through meeting student needs. That means that everyone throughout the organization has to work to understand and meet those needs. If we are responsive to student needs, the students will be our best advocates."

Johnson received his bachelor of arts degree in history from the College of William and Mary, and his MBA in management from Averett University. He also holds a certificate in culinary concepts from the Culinary Institute of America. He is a member of several professional organizations, is active in his community, and is looking to connect with fellow fly fishers upon his arrival.