Official Announcement
May 10, 2012
I am writing to announce some upcoming changes to the management of the Wellesley College Club and the College Catering Program, and I want to thank Bob Bossange, assistant vice president for administration, for his leadership in facilitating these management improvements.
The Pinnacle Advisory Group, a hospitality management consulting firm, with a practice that includes campus hospitality, has assisted the College to develop and implement the new College Club management plan. As of May 30, 2012, the Wellesley College Club will be managed in-house and led by a new General Manager, Mark Roche. Mark has extensive experience in the hospitality business, including serving as director of Northeastern University’s conference centers (Henderson House, Warren Center, and Batterymarch). When Mark arrives on campus, please join me in welcoming him to Wellesley.
We are very pleased to inform you that many of the current College Club staff members will continue in their roles at the Club and will join the new hospitality management team. Please continue to book guest rooms, meetings, and lunch and dinner reservations at the College Club as usual.
The College will be introducing a new College Catering program for on campus meetings and events. Based on a thorough review of all on campus catering for the past four years we have found that the vast majority of catering has been provided by local caterers, with the exception of several large events such as Commencement and Reunion that were catered by our campus dining partner, AVI Wellesley Fresh. Based on this review it is evident that you, our colleagues, seek more diverse options in terms of menu and cost through the use of external caterers.
Accordingly, we are changing our catering program options effective July 1, 2012. AVI Wellesley Fresh will only cater a select number of College –wide events such as Commencement and Reunion. For all other on-campus catering, the College community is being asked to select a caterer from a list of preferred local caterers that have agreed to meet all necessary Town of Wellesley Board of Health rules and regulations governing takeout food as well as College Business Policy standards. In the coming weeks, we will create a catering web page listing these caterers with their contact information, including links to their websites. In late August, we will also have a catering vendor fair so you can learn more about each vendor’s menu items, pricing, and ordering process.
Until July 1, 2012 you may continue to use AVI Wellesley Fresh for catering, if you choose. Our successful partnership with AVI Wellesley Fresh for the student board and retail programs will continue and we look forward to program enhancements in next year’s dining program.
Should you have questions, you are invited to a drop-in informational session next week on Friday, May 18th from 10 AM to 11 AM in the Wang Campus Center, Room 413.
Andy
Andrew B. Evans
Vice President for Finance and Treasurer
Wellesley College
1-781-283-2305
