TO:	Student Leaders Chair, Faculty Senate Deans Vice Presidents
FROM:	Richard P. Miller, Jr.
RE:	Selection of Dining Services Partner

I am pleased to announce that we have entered into an agreement with Aramark Corporation, which will assume responsibility for the University's dining program on the River Campus and at the Eastman School. As noted previously, there will be no changes, other than those already announced, to the 1998-99 dining program.

Our detailed review of proposals makes us confident that Aramark, among the three firms considered, will do the best job in meeting the expectations of our students, faculty, and staff. Aramark's Campus Services Division operates hundreds of dining programs at colleges and universities across the United States. Its customer list includes Emory, Boston University, Columbia, and the University of Virginia, and the firm recently added Brandeis and the University of Chicago to its list of accounts.

Further, Aramark received very high marks from students who reviewed the proposals made by our potential vendors in the Spring of 1997. I believe that student attitudes about Aramark were confirmed in informal conversations with student leaders over the past week.

Aramark has assured continued employment for hourly and management employees, and that additionally there will be no reduction in student job opportunities available in the coming year. The firm's economic proposal offers assurance of improved and predictable financial performance of the University's dining program.

We know that the decision to consider outsourcing of our dining program has been unsettling for many on our campus, but we are confident that the change will be a positive one. To introduce Aramark to you, company representatives will host an event on Thursday, May 7, from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm, in the Graham Smith Plaza (rain location will be the Gazebo in the Douglass Food Court), so that you can get to know the key people and sample foods prepared under their supervision.