From Catering to Community: Aramark’s Partnership with Michigan Ross

Michigan Ross is one of the most popular destinations on campus for meetings and events, food and beverages, and to socialize and unwind. A big reason for this is the hardworking Aramark team that supports Ross Operations and other units in managing our facilities and hospitality needs. Aramark has been the school’s primary food and facilities service provider since 2009, and currently manages Starbucks, Seigle Cafe, Catering at Michigan Ross, the Och Fitness Center, and Executive Learning and Conference Center. Additionally, the team provides custodial support and assists with events.  

Innovating and supporting the Ross community

Jason Davidson, general manager of Aramark at Michigan Ross, leads the team of 75-80 staff members. The team is temporarily based at the State Street Campus until the Executive Residence and Wyly Hall project is completed. Despite the temporary relocation, Davidson says Aramark continues to support activities on the Ross campus, such as student welcome weekends, conferences, alumni programs, and other special events. 

“There is a ton that happens on the Michigan Ross campus, and our team stays very busy with just the activities happening within the school,” said Davidson. “If we are not communicating and working with the Ross Events and Operations teams to coordinate event set-up and equipment needs, some of these events won’t be successful.”

In addition to collaborating with units across the school to host meetings and various events, Davidson emphasized Aramark’s commitment to improving the customer experience in the retail spaces at Ross. This includes implementing new technology, adding new menu options, and adjusting retail hours to match peak times. Last year, the team redesigned the Starbucks kiosk and introduced a new mobile ordering platform that allows customers to order and pay ahead. These changes have helped enhance customer service by shortening wait times, especially during the rush between classes.

“It is important to our team that we bring new ideas to the table,” said Davidson. “We need to be innovative in what we do. Just because something has worked well for a few years doesn’t mean it will work forever.”

The summer months are the best time to renovate and implement new services when fewer people are on campus. Currently, the Aramark team is developing a new mobile ordering platform for Seigle Cafe.

Recognition and giving back to the community

Beyond daily work at Ross, Davidson also focuses on creating a positive team culture by recognizing team members for milestones and great work, as well as giving back to the community.

“Recognition is important,” said Davidson. “We celebrate holidays and recognize birthdays, work anniversaries, and other milestones. We also host Aramark Building Community Days, volunteer events designed to engage and give back to the community.”

The most recent Building Community Day was in April at the Maize and Blue Cupboard, a food pantry on campus that provides food and resources to U-M community members in need. A group of Aramark team members helped unload a delivery truck and restock pantry shelves.

“We looked into the Maize and Blue Cupboard and thought it would be a good opportunity to support the community,” said Davidson. “It was an eye-opening experience to see how impactful the Cupboard is for so many people.”

In addition to this volunteer activity, Aramark launched a round-up program at Seigle Cafe to benefit the Maize and Blue Cupboard. The program allows customers to round up their purchases to the nearest dollar to donate to the food pantry.

A part of the Ross community

When it comes to community, Davidson says that while Aramark is not an official Ross unit, his team truly feels like part of Michigan Ross. He noted that many Aramark team members have worked at Ross for years, developed close bonds with the people here, and gotten to know staff, faculty, and leadership by name.

“We, as a team, develop relationships and forge partnerships with Ross community members, which supports our feelings of inclusion,” said Davidson. “I think that every person who works for Aramark, when you ask them where they work, they would say ‘I work for Ross.’ Michigan Ross is a pretty special place, and we are proud to be a part of this community.”