Swarthmore College is a small, highly residential private institution, about 1,680 students, 97% of whom live on campus. With a brand new dining hall, a full-service inn and restaurant, a campus store, post office, print services, events management, performing arts production, and fleet management all under one portfolio, Anthony Coschignano oversees a remarkably broad operation for a school its size.

Anthony joins Rob White to discuss the staffing challenges facing campus auxiliary services today, the growing role of AI and automation, and the tension between operational efficiency and the human connection that makes campus dining meaningful. At Swarthmore, the answer isn’t choosing one over the other. It’s finding the balance.

Anthony’s takeaway = Technology works best when it handles the transactional so people can focus on the relational. Express checkout lanes and automated package lockers free up staff for the moments that actually matter: the ones where a student needs a real conversation, not a screen.