The NACUFS Financial Management Workshop is for anyone looking to advance their skills in the financial management of collegiate dining operations. It will take place on November 13–14, 2025, at Stanford University.

This workshop will allow you to take your financial management skills to the next level after completing the online  NACUFS Financial Management for Foodservice course, available on NACUFS Learn. 

• Grow your skills in person, capitalizing on opportunities for networking and in-depth sharing

• Learn how to effectively communicate your operation's financial status to your team and university administration

• Develop dining plans to maximize revenue

• Identify opportunities to increase revenue and decrease expenses

• Strategically plan for equipment replacement and renovations

• Utilize the InSights Operating Ratios Study by NACUFS to enhance your operation

• Prepare a cost/benefit analysis using data from the InSights Operating Ratios Study by NACUFS

• Create a training plan for your staff to use financial data in decision-making

• Enhance your skills in understanding and creating reports and dashboards

"Strong financial management skills are vital to the successful management of foodservice operations.  NACUFS is bringing together leaders in the industry to learn and share ideas on financial management best practices in the Financial Management Workshop. This collaborative gathering will provide the opportunity to learn financial strategies to better serve students and our universities and colleges.”  -- Rich Neumann, M.S., FMP

NACUFS 2025 Financial Management Workshop  Agenda (as of 8/26/25) 

Wednesday, November 12 

3:00pm – Optional Tour of Stanford University Dining 

5:30 – 6:30pm – Attendee Engagement Reception 

Thursday, November 13 

8:00am – Breakfast at Stanford Dining 

9:00am – 5:30pm – Financial Management Workshop (Day 1) 

Friday, November 14 

8:00am – Breakfast at Stanford Dining 

9:00am – 12:30pm – Financial Management Workshop (Day 2) 

Hotel and travel information is available on our website. Additional information will be sent as we get closer to the event date. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at education@nacufs.org.  

We look forward to having you join us at Stanford in November! 

At NACUFS' Engaging People Workshop, you'll spend two immersive days at Stanford University with your peers, gaining fresh perspectives on leadership, management, and employee retention. Whether you're an aspiring manager, new to management, or an experienced leader, the workshop offers practical tactics and valuable insights on motivation, conflict resolution, teamwork, recruitment, and more. 

This interactive course encourages collaboration among participants as you explore big-picture strategies and develop a comprehensive framework to manage your team effectively!

Unlock your full potential as a leader with these learning outcomes:

• Expand your professional network with individuals in collegiate foodservice who face similar challenges.

• Recognize how your preferred work style and the various styles within your team can serve as advantages through an informal personality profile.

• Understand the power of knowledge sharing to empower your staff, manage your time efficiently, and prioritize competing tasks effectively.

• Learn valuable tips for building professional relationships with peers, direct reports, and leaders.

• Develop confidence in handling difficult employee conversations and applying corrective actions by using attentive listening and feedback skills.

• Increase your awareness of how your communication style can influence your team, retain talent, attract new employees, and boost engagement. 

• Explore opportunities for self-reflection, practicing new skills, and developing action plans.

What are your peers saying about the workshop?

“This workshop is great for anyone who manages people, whether new in their leadership role or doing it for many years.”

“I thought that this workshop was wonderful, and I would love for more of my colleagues to take this workshop.”

“I can apply what I learned and immediately put it into execution. Most importantly, it enabled me to become and see myself as a better leader.”

“My biggest takeaway was how to show appreciation to others.”

“Jodi provided me specific direction around employee skill set development opportunities for my organization. I plan on presenting these ideas to my manager.”

“Attending the Engaging People Workshop was an eye-opening experience for me and changed my perspective on how I lead others. I plan to enroll all managers from my own team in the workshop!”

___

NACUFS 2025 Engaging People Workshop Agenda 

(as of 8/26/25) 

Tuesday, November 11 

3:00 pm – Optional Tour of Stanford University Dining 

Wednesday, November 12 

8:00 am – Breakfast at Stanford Dining 

9:00 am to 5:00 pm – Engaging People Workshop (Day 1) 

5:30 to 6:30 pm – Attendee Engagement Reception 

Thursday, November 13 

8:00 am – Breakfast at Stanford Dining 

9:00 am to 5:00 pm – Engaging People Workshop (Day 2) 

Hotel and travel information is available on our website. Additional information will be sent as we get closer to the event date. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at education@nacufs.org.  

Effectively managing uncertainty is essential for ensuring smooth operations and upholding high standards. This micro-course will offer you valuable insights to help you understand and cope with stress, adapt to challenges, make informed decisions, and lead with confidence during unpredictable times. The practical strategies provided can benefit you not only at work but also in other areas of your life.

Designed for managers, but anyone in collegiate dining could benefit from the course. 

NACUFS Marketing for Foodservice

Strengthen your marketing expertise and elevate your campus dining brand with Marketing for Foodservice, an asynchronous online course designed for collegiate dining managers, marketing coordinators, and administrators with beginner to intermediate experience. The course aims to enhance marketing strategies that will increase your dining operation's visibility and create memorable experiences for your campus community. From building awareness to engaging your guests, this course focuses on providing you with the tools you need to succeed.

Throughout the course, you will analyze the importance of strategic marketing and effective methods to engage your campus community, raise awareness, and establish your department as the go-to dining expert on campus. Additionally, you'll practice essential marketing applications related to planning, data analysis, design, and crisis management, preparing you to face the challenges of modern dining service marketing with confidence.

What You’ll Gain:

• Build a comprehensive marketing plan tailored to your operation’s goals and audience.

• Establish a consistent brand identity and understand its role in long-term success.

• Leverage marketing strategies that resonate across multiple generations and communication formats.

• Apply data collection and analysis techniques, including emerging tools like AI, to evaluate and improve your campaigns.

• Develop essential design skills and create accessible, engaging visual content using photography, video, graphics, and motion media.

• Prepare for unexpected challenges by mastering crisis communication strategies that keep your team and brand resilient.

Modules:

1. Creating a Marketing Plan: We will explore the importance of a marketing plan, the steps involved in creating one, and strategies to avoid market oversaturation. 

2. Evaluation: This section will focus on data collection, analyzing feedback, and the role of artificial intelligence in evaluating marketing efforts.

3. Design Considerations: Begin or build on fundamental design skills and learn how to create a style guide to maintain a cohesive theme. Additionally, we will develop skills in graphics, photography, video production, motion graphics, and accessibility.

4. Engaging Through Integrated Marketing: This segment will cover effective strategies for promoting your department and participating in competitions.

5. Crisis Management: How to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters and crises.

Developed with input from NACUFS members representing eight colleges and universities, this course combines real-world insights with actionable content to meet the evolving demands of foodservice marketing.

When Hurricane Helene struck Western North Carolina, the immediate aftermath revealed the critical role that App State's dining played in the community and beyond. In a two-week response effort during the university’s closure, dining facilities opened their doors to provide free meals to students, faculty, staff, and affected residents. This session delved into our response to this crisis, emphasizing how campus dining not only fulfilled a fundamental need for nourishment but also acted as a unifying force amid chaos. 

Hear from Elizabeth Riede, App State’s executive director of campus dining, as she shares how her team mobilized to provide thousands of free meals and build partnerships across campus and beyond. Gain insights into emergency response logistics, team leadership during adversity, and strategies for using dining operations as a source of healing and connection in times of need.

We shared insights on mobilizing staff, coordinating meal service, and fostering an inclusive environment that welcomed individuals of all ages and backgrounds. The collaborative relationships formed with other campus divisions, local organizations, and volunteers showcase how community partnerships amplified outreach and support. Learn about the logistical planning involved in providing thousands of meals, as well as the emotional impact of our efforts on both the recipients and the staff involved. 

This session was designed to inspire other dining services to view their role through a lens of community engagement and resilience, reinforcing the notion that food is not just sustenance but a powerful tool for healing and connection in times of crisis. The team demonstrated remarkable resilience and compassion, stepping away from their own personal challenges to ensure that no one felt alone during this trying time. Elizabeth shares App State’s lived experience, and the live audience also had the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the presentation.

In a world where AI can manage everything from menu planning to feedback analysis, the real challenge is preserving the human connection that students value most. In this session, AI-Driven, Human-Led: Crafting the Perfect Recipe for Humanity in the AI Revolution, we’ll explore how campus dining teams can embrace AI tools to boost efficiency and marketing efforts, without losing their authentic voice. Discover how to weave human-centered storytelling into AI-enhanced content across different platforms, from idea generation to administrative support to showcasing student experiences. We’ll also dive into how to engage with AI consciously and ethically, ensuring that innovation doesn’t come at the cost of integrity. You’ll leave with actionable strategies to ensure your dining program remains efficient, engaging, and deeply personal.

In this micro-course, Amanda Ewing, Director of Culture & Engagement for the University of Michigan Dining, will introduce how to support inclusive excellence by connecting hospitality and team culture. We will learn about microaggressions, practice bystander intervention, and set personal goals for welcoming guests to your community. We will consider how our identities travel everywhere with us and our guests, and by pausing to consider this, we will consider how a person’s identities might impact how they think about, experience, and make sense of the world. This self-paced course is packed with interactive opportunities and resources as an introduction or a refresher to identity-conscious supervision in hospitality leadership. 

Estimated time for completion: 1 hour

In this short video, Ashley Richardson, a registered dietitian at Ohio State University, discusses the dietary restrictions associated with various religions. She explains the guidelines for kosher and halal diets, as well as the dietary practices in Hinduism and Christianity. The video covers how to accommodate these dietary restrictions within collegiate foodservice, including support for seasonal changes such as the Christian Lent period and Hindu fasting days.

This recorded panel discussion was a collaborative effort presented by three higher educational organizations: the National Association of Campus Card Users (NACCU), the National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS), and the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO). It explored the crucial theme of community well-being and how it relates to various roles on campus. The discussion was grounded in the understanding that well-being is not a fragmented pursuit. Instead, it emphasizes a holistic approach that considers the whole person, the entire educational experience, the institution as a whole, and the community at large. This comprehensive perspective encourages us to examine the various dimensions of well-being and how they intersect, influencing one another across our diverse roles.

Industry 101: This short document teaches you how to leverage conferences and understand your segment. It also includes helpful tips, takeaways, and frequently asked questions. 

Spend a few minutes to learn more about the college and university market!