Beyond the 50 Power Players: University of Arizona

University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ

Dining Head: Jason Tolliver, executive director of Arizona Student Unions*
Total Enrollment: 40,621
Students Living on Campus: 7,100
No. of Meal Plans Sold: 6,000
Annual Dining Program Revenues: $29 million
Cost Range of Residential Meal Plans: $2,500-$3,500/year
No. of Residential Dining Halls/Commons: 1
No. of Retail Outlets: 35
Management: self-operated
Website: www.union.arizona.edu/dining
Phone: (520) 621-7038
* The director of culinary services position is currently vacant.

The recent hirings of Executive Chef Michael Omo and Assistant Director for Nutrition Christine Carlson accent UA’s aggressive plan to revamp its entire dining operation to better serve the needs of the campus community. Some early fruits of that effort include being ranked in the top five as a "Top Gluten-Free Campus" by three different publications in the past year.

UA also expanded its Smart Moves educational initiative to provide healthier options across all units and is in the midst of a renovation and expansion of the concession operations at the school’s McKale Center, home of its Arizona Wildcats basketball teams.

Opened in the past year was the all-you-care-to-eat Bear Down Kitchen within the Arizona Football Stadium that is open to the public for breakfast and lunch and serves at the training table location for Arizona Athletics. A new, second campus Starbucks location at the library more than doubled the sales of the previous Bookends Café. Also new this fall is CC's Coffeehouse, the first CC's outside of Louisiana, and UA’s first food truck, The Quick Stop, which was designed by U of A students.