Washington and Lee Dining Services Receives National Award The National Association of College & University Food Services awarded W&L the grand prize for the Employee Development Program of the Year.

By Brian Laubscher
July 24, 2025

Washington and Lee University’s Dining Services team was recently cited among the nation’s best by the National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS), receiving a grand prize award at the 2025 Loyal E. Horton Dining, Nutrition and Sustainability Awards celebration held during the NACUFS National Conference in Salt Lake City on July 11.

NACUFS recognizes schools with gold, silver and bronze awards in a variety of categories including Retail Sales (three disciplines), Catering Special Event of the Year, Residential Special Event of the Year, Catering Program of the Year, Renovation of the Year, Innovative Dining Program of the Year, Employee Development Program of the Year, Residential Dining Facility of the Year and Outreach and Education Program of the Year.

W&L was initially recognized as one of five schools to earn the gold award for the Employee Development Program of the Year, then went on to receive the category’s grand prize at the awards celebration. The Employee Development Program of the Year category recognizes dining programs that emphasize growing and developing their team at all levels and judges each program’s goals and strategies and the impact on recruitment, retention and employee satisfaction. The other schools recognized in the category were Grand Valley State University, Ohio University, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Babson College.

“Being recognized with the grand prize is a real honor,” said K.C. Schaefer, W&L executive director of auxiliary services, who oversees campus dining. “The Horton Awards are the flagship awards given in our industry, and while W&L has won gold and silver awards in the past, I believe this is the first grand prize in our program’s history.”

W&L’s submission highlighted its CREATE program (Culinary Research and Enrichment Annual Travel Experience), which was formed in 2021 by Schaefer and Ryan Miller, former director of dining services, as a way to refocus the dining services training travel budget to include a broader section of the staff. Now in its fourth year, the program hand-selects applicants from among the dining staff to travel to a major city and immerse themselves in the food culture there.

For the award year, CREATE occurred in San Diego and offered diverse experiences that would otherwise be unavailable to the university’s culinary team. At each CREATE, team members sample menus in various restaurants, visit campus dining programs and enjoy behind-the-scenes access to kitchens and local chefs, bringing back with them creativity, innovation and authenticity that is then shared with the campus community. A prime example is the extensive international menu available through W&L’s Marketplace Global Kitchen, which features 16 different international cuisines each year.

“Seeing the CREATE program come together, from just an idea to now being four years into its execution, has been really fulfilling,” said Schaefer. “The types of experiences we’ve been able to offer to a broad spectrum of our culinary team — experiences they couldn’t get anywhere remotely near Lexington — are remarkable. I see these team members come back to campus not only with a ton of new knowledge, but also with a new mindset and broadened perspective on the way they approach their work. It’s a testament to W&L’s willingness to invest in staff at all levels.”

Since its implementation, the CREATE program has sponsored the participation of 38 employees, leading to several promotions and increased retention and recruitment among the Dining Services staff.

“Our cooks marvel that a program like CREATE exists,” said Mike O’Byrne, Marketplace executive chef. “For an hourly cook, or even a salaried chef, being taken across the country, put up in a hotel and exposed to the amount of incredible food that we taste on a CREATE trip is a life-changing and career-invigorating experience. They pass the knowledge on, so even those who don’t participate directly benefit. Every day, I see the results of CREATE on the serving lines in the dining hall.”

W&L’s dining services program employs nearly 225 staff members and 40 student workers across its eight campus venues. Last year, the dining services operation served just shy of 1 million meals (966,550) through its venues and catering services.

The Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards are the ultimate professional tribute in college and university culinary arts. Named after the NACUFS founder, the awards celebrate exemplary menus, presentations, special event planning and new dining concepts. In addition to being celebrated at the luncheon, winners will be featured in Campus Dining Today, the NACUFS official magazine. This year’s awards had nearly 300 entries from schools across the country.

Founded in 1958, NACUFS is the first association solely focused on food service in colleges and universities. From benchmarking and best practices to educational programming and professional networking, NACUFS assists in bringing excellence in collegiate dining to campuses around the country.