Berry's changes allow Harvard to move forward - Michael Berry, director of Harvard university's food service program

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Michael Berry has orchestrated a number of physical changes in the undergraduate dining program at Harvard University during his five-year tenure here.

But after Berry steps down as director of Dining Services at the end of this month, it is likely that he will be remembered more for his rapport with students than for his contributions to the bottom line. Berry is leaving Harvard to return to Southern California, where he will become vice president of food and beverage at Disneyland.

"It will be difficult to leave," said Berry, who will receive a Silver Plate award from IFMA next month for his success at Harvard. "But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I couldn't pass it up."

There is little doubt, from the standpoint of his colleagues, that Berry's customers will miss him.

"I think Michael Berry's legacy, if you will, can be found in the comment we most often get from students," said Lenny Condenzio, who has been named acting foodservice director at Harvard. "Students tell us that Dining Services is the only department at Harvard that truly listens to students. Michael always says yes, always finds a way to get things done."

When Berry, then Dining Services director at the University of California at Irvine, was hired in 1990, he came onto a campus for which the food and foodservice facilities were adequate but tired.

"Here we were, headed for the next millennium, and we were still in a 1950s mode," Condenzio explained.

Berry brought in some fresh faces in management roles, while simultaneously working to win the loyalty of current employees, some of whom had been on the job for 40 years.

"They were good workers, and they loved what they did," Condenzio said. "We had to sell them on the changes we wanted to make so that they would still love what they did."

Berry earned their trust and respect by including them in Dining Services' plans. Using focus groups and one-on-one conversations, Berry solicited their opinions. He also rewarded them for good performance.

"Michael created recognition programs for everything from good ideas to perfect attendance," Condenzio observed. "There are annual awards for the best front- and back-of-the-house employees for each dining unit, and we award the Director's Cup each year to the best team of employees in the department."

One of Berry's first actions was to select a team of 15 employees to put together a mission statement and a set of operating principles. The mission statement is visible to students in every dining hall.

The mission statement says, in part, "We are dedicated to the enrichment of campus life through the food and service we provide the university." One of the operating principles states that "we shall be proactive in our service program, remaining highly responsive to the needs of our guests."

Those "guests" are asked to offer their opinions and suggestions on yellow "feedback" cards available in each of Dining Services' 13 undergraduate dining halls. From the cards' inception, Berry insisted that any student filling out a feedback card receive a response within 24 hours.

"This demonstrated to students that not only did we read every card; we took action on it," Condenzio said. "Now those cards boost our spirits many days because many of them contain accolades for everyone from cooks and managers to cashiers and line servers."

Student comments were a driving force in the changes made in Memorial Hall. Foodservice renovations, part of a $28 million refurbishing of the historic building, were completed last fall. On the main floor a new kitchen and scramble system servery were included in an addition to the building. In the dining hall itself -- a cathedrallike room that features $6 million worth of stained glass -- the glass, ceiling and walls were scrubbed clean and the wood refinished.

Downstairs, a coffeehouse and food court were installed. The food court includes a pizza station; an outlet for Mexican foods; and a unit that sells candy, ice cream and other sweets. The coffeehouse, which is physically separated from the other units and seating area by glass and wood, features Seattle's Best Coffee and baked goods from Panini's and Carberry, two local bakeries.

"We designed this to be a meeting place for students," Condenzio explained. "This is used not just as an eating place but as a study hall and gathering place.

However, we knew it would get noisy in here," he added, "so we made the coffeehouse an enclosed space, so that faculty and students who wanted a quiet space would be enticed to come here."

The basement renovation appears to be a critical and financial success: Dining Services estimated the facility would generate $1.8 million in revenue in its first year.

In addition to the Memorial Hall project, about half of the dining halls have been redone, and the menu has been redesigned to reflect students' tastes for more variety, more healthful food and more vegetarian items. The revamped menu contains more than 120 items not found on the previous menu.

The obvious question, as Berry prepares to leave, is, What will happen to the foodservice program? Condenzio is emphatic when he says that Dining Services will not change.

"We will keep Michael Berry's programs going because of our mission statement," he said. "Many organizations wrote mission statements in the early 1990s. Many of them no longer follow those statements. This organization continues to live by ours. It is ingrained in the whole organization."

Purchasing director John Allegretto is equally convinced.

"We believe in that mission statement, and we believe that we are representing Harvard. Not just ourselves or Dining Services but Harvard," Allegretto said. "That won't change."

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