kahlerid@lopers.unk.edu
This May, the Student Union’s Market @ 27 Street and encompassing food court was renewed by Sodexo, a French catering service that was looking to expand. This replacement necessitated an early release of Chartwells and their contract with UNK.
J.P. Singh, the general manager of Sodexo in Kearney, has been involved in the business outside of our locality for over four decades.
“I’m originally from India and I’ve been in America since 1975 and have been at Sodexo for 44 years. It’s been a very long time,” Singh said.“I went to New York for some training, started working at Gretna University in 1991, Nebraska Wesleyan for eight years and to Illinois and Kansas. I like traveling and it gives me new experiences in the field.”
The transition from Chartwells to Sodexo was a smooth and relatively painless transition. The goal was to keep as much original staff, as well as incorporate new staff, policies and meal plan ideas.
“I wasn’t too directly involved with the transition in May,” Singh said. “I came here on August 1st, and from what my team told me, the UNK campus was very welcoming and flexible to the new changes which I am very grateful for. There hasn’t been a lot of complications so far and the reports from the university and students have been positive and we feel at home.”
The Nebraska Student Union has also seen some changes in the past few years with a redesign to the internals of the building, as well as new food providers with Chick-Fil-A and a fully renovated Starbucks. Tim Danube, the associate director of the Student Union, is pleased with the students’ reception of the changes.
“It’s been very easy to tell that the student body and campus as a whole have been happy with the changes with the Union from the new meeting rooms and places to study, as well with new places to dine,” Danube said. “From the staff in West Center, to the Freshman students that first take steps on campus, everyone is happy with what the Union has to offer.”
The Nebraska Student Union is implementing on-site activities to encourage further student engagement.
“We are adding some new events like student-ran concerts and performances that will give excitement and engagement to the entire building. We will slowly add more ways for students to show their talents in the future,” Danube said.
