Article Photos

Article Links

» View more photos on CU

PARKERSBURG - West Virginia University at Parkersburg will begin a massive renovation project this spring to revamp its campus cafeteria.

The college's Board of Governors met Wednesday evening to approve a request for renovations with AVI Foodsystems, the college's contracted food service vendor.

The board entered into a 10-year contract with AVI in July, allowing the group to implement the AVI Fresh concept, which calls for a wider variety of freshly prepared healthy foods. Christopher Clifford, interim chief financial officer for WVU-P, said the contract is divided into a one-year contract with nine one-year extensions, which will be voted on each year.

As part of the program, AVI will provide $152,000 for the renovation of the serving and dining areas of the cafeteria and will fund a $177,000 loan to the college that will be repaid over the life of the contract from commissions. Should the college's contract with AVI end early, the college would be required to pay the remainder of the costs and loan amount, Clifford said.

"This is a great way for those who have limited resources, such as most state colleges, to really provide a quality dining experience for students," he said.

The renovations will include a permanent coffee and breakfast bar in the dining area, a stage for noon-time performances and a "soft-seating" area.

Vince Lombardi, regional director of the education division of AVI, said work on the cafeteria dining area is slated to begin during the college's break in December. Work on serving and food preparation areas likely would begin during Spring Break.

The college has worked with AVI for more than 20 years. Since the contract affects multi-year expenditures of funds for the college, additional board approval of the renovation was required.

The board Wednesday also approved seven goals for the college, including community involvement, being a positive environment for students, staff and faculty, securing grants and support for the college, improving facilities and technology and developing a top-notch identity and image for the school.

The goals are part of the college's five-year strategic plan.

"A lot of time and effort went into these seven simple statements," said Bob D'Avria, a consultant to WVU-P. "After these statements are accepted, the real work begins."

The approval marks the penultimate step for the college's strategic plan, which now goes to the college's Institutional Effective Council for the development of objectives and key indicators, which will be used to track progress toward those goals.