Reading Time: 5 minutes
Key Topics: Performance Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Partnership Transparency, Mission Alignment
Author: Envision Strategies
Featured Interviews:
- Amanda Gerard, Director of Dining and Hospitality, University of New Mexico
- Ann Roebuck, Executive Principal, Envision Strategies
Watch the Full Video Interview
The Foundation of Success
After 13 years of leading dining and hospitality at the University of New Mexico, Amanda Gerard has built her program on a simple but powerful principle: genuine transparency creates sustainable partnerships.
In conversation with Ann Roebuck from Envision Strategies, Amanda explores three critical areas that dominate Auxiliary Services discussions: affordability, innovation, and retention and recruitment. “The dining program plays such a critical role in those three subjects that we really have to stay plugged into the needs in each of those areas,” Amanda explains.
What sets the University of New Mexico apart is how Amanda tackles these complexities through structured performance management, authentic campus engagement, and strategic problem-solving that puts mission before preference.
Transparency Through Measurable Alignment
For Amanda, transparency begins with clarity. “It starts with having a real handle on what the core mission is, the core goals that we’re working towards,” she explains. “I believe that’s the cornerstone of good transparency.”
The University of New Mexico works with Key Performance Indicators (KPI) tied directly to the institution’s 2040 strategic goals. Ann probes an important question: “Do you bring it back to that mission alignment on a monthly basis or a semester basis, because sometimes that view gets lost?”
“When we’re revisiting a KPI, which we do monthly, we’re also tying back to where we are going as an institution,” Amanda notes. “That helps us communicate to leadership that what we’re doing in dining adds toward the mission of the institution.”
As Ann observes, “So many times we talk about KPIs and the importance, and we don’t always see that implementation.” The difference between knowing what matters and actually tracking it consistently separates programs that maintain excellence from those that struggle with accountability.
When dining metrics connect to enrollment, retention, and student success goals, the program earns its place in strategic conversations about the university’s future. The key is avoiding ambiguity. “The more ambiguous things get, it becomes so subjective,” Amanda explains. “Really aligning on things that are tangible promotes great transparency.”
Connection as Strategy
Amanda describes herself as “a table toucher at heart,” ensuring her team maintains visibility at events from large catering functions to student engagement activities. Her connection strategy includes multiple touchpoints: surveys, feedback sessions, town halls, and open-door policies.
“We build relationships because the relationships will sustain you through any type of conflict, or whenever you might get off course with your partnerships,” Amanda says. This investment in relationship-building creates resilience when challenges inevitably arise.
Food as the Universal Connector
Amanda recognizes that dining occupies a unique position on campus. “Food is the intersection of all types of people, all departments, all academic programs,” she observes.
The University of New Mexico’s dining program collaborates with the Office of Sustainability on metrics collection and provides academic programs with real-world case studies. These partnerships extend beyond transactions into genuine collaboration, including Staff Appreciation events where Amanda’s team contributes to programming that makes staff feel valued.
One signature initiative demonstrates dining as community builder: Lapo Goes Local celebrates Albuquerque and New Mexico through food, heritage, cuisine, and arts. The event introduces students to the agricultural community supplying their dining program while bringing together diverse campus departments.
Ann notes the program’s creative engagement opportunities, recalling a May the Fourth celebration during her visit. “It’s always great to provide interest in food and to engage with people and bring them in in different ways,” she observes.
Amanda agrees: “Food is the great unifier, right? We all come together around the table.”
Navigating Stakeholder Complexity
The complexity of serving diverse audiences with competing needs came into sharp focus during the University of New Mexico’s recent supplier selection process. Amanda describes the RFP committee as a room where “all of those diverse voices come together, and everyone has a different expectation and opinion.”
Rather than viewing this diversity as an obstacle, Amanda sees it as valuable intelligence. “It’s fantastic, right? Because you’re learning right in that room about where you’re doing really well, where you’re missing it for people,” she says. “We get the opportunity to reset and really seek a partnership that will address those needs.”
This perspective transforms what could be a contentious process into a learning opportunity. The stakeholder group becomes a microcosm of the campus community, revealing priorities that might otherwise remain hidden until they create problems.
Strategic Problem-Solving at Scale
When facing complex challenges, Amanda’s approach is methodical: separate the critical from the optional, align stakeholders around shared priorities, and commit only to what’s feasible and sustainable.
“When you have something that’s really complex, you cannot address every single nuance to the entire machine,” Amanda explains. “Pulling it apart and understanding what are the things that are critical, the need to have versus the nice to have, and really get aligned with every person who’s going to be addressing this problem with you.”
This framework applies whether working with internal departments or external partners. The questions remain consistent: What are we actually trying to accomplish? Is that feasible? Can we consistently do that?
“Really understand that what you’re about to commit to has to be something that you can both wrap your arms around,” Amanda advises. The approach acknowledges that some solutions can be implemented immediately while others require additional strategy and collaboration.
This realistic assessment prevents overcommitment while maintaining momentum toward improvement. Rather than promising everything to everyone, Amanda’s team focuses on delivering sustainable excellence in core areas while building toward future capabilities.
Mission Before Preference
Throughout the conversation, Amanda returns to a central theme: mission alignment must trump individual preference or taste. This discipline keeps the program focused on institutional goals rather than getting lost in subjective debates about menu items or operational details.
The monthly KPI reviews create a rhythm of accountability that reinforces this focus. By consistently connecting operational metrics to strategic goals, Amanda ensures that dining conversations happen in the context of broader institutional success.
This connection elevates dining from a support service to a strategic function. When dining performance impacts recruitment, retention, affordability, and innovation, campus leadership recognizes the program’s contribution to core institutional priorities.
Key Takeaways for Dining Leaders
- Build transparency on tangible metrics: Subjective preferences create conflict, but measurable KPIs tied to institutional goals create productive dialogue and shared accountability.
- Connect daily operations to strategic vision: Monthly reviews that tie performance to institutional goals demonstrate how dining supports broader success and earn the program a strategic seat at the table.
- Invest in relationships before you need them: Consistent engagement through multiple touchpoints creates resilience that sustains partnerships through inevitable challenges.
- Leverage dining’s universal reach: Use food as a platform for building unexpected partnerships across campus departments, creating mutual value and expanding the program’s impact.
- Transform stakeholder diversity into intelligence: Diverse opinions in RFP committees and planning groups reveal where programs succeed and where they miss the mark, creating opportunities for strategic reset.
- Separate critical needs from optional wants: Complex challenges require disciplined prioritization that focuses resources on feasible, sustainable solutions while building toward future capabilities.
- Maintain authentic presence: Management by walking around creates organic connections that complement formal feedback mechanisms, building trust through consistent visibility and accessibility.
Through strategic thinking, disciplined performance management, and authentic relationship building, the University of New Mexico demonstrates that transparency becomes a competitive advantage when grounded in measurable institutional alignment. Amanda’s approach offers a roadmap for dining leaders seeking to transform supplier relationships from transactional arrangements into strategic partnerships that drive both operational excellence and institutional success.
The foundation remains clear: know your mission, measure what matters, build genuine relationships, and commit only to what you can consistently deliver. When these principles guide decisions, complexity becomes manageable and dining programs become indispensable partners in institutional success.
