"Like the rest of the university, we are taking a hard look at ways to cut costs," said Gail Finan, director of Cornell Dining. "But we also are analyzing demand in order to increase our revenue streams -- what and when do people want to eat and drink; where are they most likely to want a quick drink, a meal to go or a dining room setting?"

Finan noted two recent changes that illustrate this dual-pronged cost-cutting and revenue-enhancing approach: the reduction in dining hours on North Campus and the opening of a new café, Rusty's, in Uris Hall.

"Both of these decisions were based on demand," she said. "The demand for breakfast and lunch near residence halls is not nearly as great as the need for dinner there, so it made sense to reduce those hours at Appel Commons and the Robert Purcell Community Center (RPCC)."

She noted that West Campus has modified its breakfast and lunch options for similar reasons.

Finan pointed out that reducing spring semester hours at Appel and RPCC is not new. "A high number of students now join fraternities and sororities. So we give Greek recruits the option to downsize their meal plans during the spring, which also reduces demand at the North Campus dining rooms."

In contrast, the demand for fast lunch-hour access to eateries near classrooms is huge: 10 percent of everyone who takes a class goes through Uris Hall. "It made sense to locate an a la carte coffee shop there for those with a few minutes to spare between classes," Finan said. Even at a conservative estimate of 250 customers per day, Rusty's will more than achieve its financial goals.

Rusty's offers Starbucks coffee, fresh baked goods and pre-made sandwiches and salads.

All these dining changes were based on data and business modeling provided by an outside review team last year. Their review also resulted in closing the underutilized Alfalfa Room, Ciabatta's in the Business and Technology Park and the Tower Café in Uris Library, and in adding bubble tea (a popular sweet tea drink characterized by tapioca pearls) to Trillium Express' menu and Thai, Korean and fusion entrees and healthy salads to the Ivy Room offerings in Willard Straight Hall.

Changes in staffing and food preparation have also been implemented. "We relocated the staff members who worked in the facilities we closed and took advantage of the 12 openings created when staff retired through the Staff Retirement Incentive last year," said Finan.

By changing assignments, Cornell Dining was able to reduce the number of staff members from 22 to 11 in its commissary, which used to make all the Freshtake grab-n-go salads and sandwiches. "Now some of the larger facilities such as Trillium and Martha's make their own salads and sandwiches," Finan said.

Other staffing savings have included combining the board plan and retail enterprise management functions under a new associate director and outsourcing the dishroom operation in Willard Straight Hall to Challenge Industries. "We were able to fill some positions that normally are discontinued in the summer with temporary and casual employees, saving the full-time, year-round positions for Cornell's regular bargaining unit staff," Finan said.

"I don't know yet what else will emerge from the Reimagining Cornell process," Finan said, "but I do know that our recent changes will have long-term effects. We have been able to cut costs and increase revenues without sacrificing excellent service. More importantly, Cornell Dining, the Student Assembly and the United Auto Workers leadership have been working together to help us be good stewards not just of our financial resources, but our human resources as well."