Paulus honored for dining services success

As Napoleon famously said, "An army marches on its stomach." Translate that to a university setting, where thousands of students - plus faculty, staff and visitors - must be fed every day in order to keep them functioning at their best. But unlike an army, whose soldiers must eat what they are given, university dining services must be responsive and provide an array of menus to meet an array of tastes and needs.

Luckily for BGSU, Dining Director Michael Paulus understands that imperative and is adept at serving up a satisfying experience for his many clients. Paulus works with Chartwells http://www.dineoncampus.com/bgsu/idx.cfm?, a division of Compass Group, which provides dining services for more than 210 colleges and universities around the country, including BGSU.

In recognition of his service, Paulus was recently presented the Presidents Circle Award by Chartwells for outstanding achievement in the "Community Pillar" category, which signifies "taking our lead from our guests," according to Chartwells Regional Vice President Kevin Lyden.

Paulus was honored at the company's annual summit in Chicago. He was among those receiving awards for "Living the Brand Pillars," which also include cuisine, culture, ideas and people.

"Michael was nominated for his award for his work with the BGSU community, his ability to listen to our guests, satisfy their needs, and deliver a 'WOW' experience with every meal served," Lyden said.

"Because BGSU students are highly concerned about our planet, the BGSU team has adopted many successful sustainability programs. Parents have often commented that BGSU was chosen specifically because of the attention to special dietary needs. Michael's forward-thinking leadership is his strongest asset and leads to continuous improvement of the BGSU dining program.

"BGSU students are always his first priority. He is constantly thinking about what the team can do to accomplish the next new experience for our BGSU guests. Customer satisfaction rankings have always been high."

This year, BGSU achieved first place in its region and fifth place among all of Chartwells Higher Education clients.

Under Paulus' leadership, BGSU dining has become a best-practices model for other universities, said BGSU CFO Sheri Stoll. "Chartwells serves many universities throughout the U.S.," she said. "Many are much much larger than we are. But we think the team at BGSU, which is made up of both Chartwells and BGSU employees, is a big part of the success we've experienced. We would not be where we are today without Mike and his leadership and vision for what our campus dining program ought to be. I cannot tell you how many representatives from other universities come here in an average year to see our operations."