Mayer to Leave Harvard

Ted Mayer, executive director of housing & dining services at Harvard University, is planning to leave the school in order to pursue a consulting opportunity. Beginning June 1st, Director of Operations David Davidson will take over as dining services director on an interim basis, while Lisa Hogarty, vice president for campus services, will oversee hospitality operations such as the faculty club and Harvard's campus hotels.

Mayer has served as head of Harvard's dining operations since 1997, following 10 years heading dining operations at Middlebury College. He had been promoted to assistant vice president for hospitality and dining services last October.

His significant accomplishments at Harvard include the creation of a comprehensive master plan that led to systems that dramatically improved the efficiency and quality of foodservice operations across the residential campus. Also, six years ago, Mayer initiated Harvard's Food Literacy Project, which remains a model program for other campuses across the segment. For his achievements, Mayer was awarded the 2006 Silver Plate in the Higher Education segment.

Davidson had been associate dining director at Harvard before leaving to take over the Aramark-managed dining operations at Yale in 2000. He later managed dining at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. He then rejoined Harvard in 2007 as director of retail operations before moving up to director of operations the following year.