Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,

We write to address an article about Parkhurst Dining published in today’s edition of The Lafayette. This past Wednesday, Parkhurst management and Geoff met with student journalists from the newspaper for about two hours to discuss their questions and to clarify inaccurate information. As we have informed The Lafayette, we were surprised and disappointed that the article published today did not include most of that information and used a number of comments offered out of context. The resulting misinformation has caused distress for a dining staff that is incredibly dedicated to our students and this community. We therefore want to share the accurate information directly with you.

Last week, President Hurd and we met with student journalists from The Lafayette to discuss dining. This past Wednesday, in the meeting with Parkhurst management and Geoff, the student journalists shared specific employee concerns they said they had gathered about employee breaks, pay and accommodations. In the meeting, Parkhurst management therefore noted the following:

1. Scheduled breaks: Parkhurst dining employees receive breaks. While scheduled breaks may be timed differently than they were with our prior dining company (Bon Appetit), because Parkhurst values and supports scheduled breaks for employees, they are standard in the company’s practices.

2. Compensation: As we have shared previously, Parkhurst representatives conveyed in Wednesday’s meeting that all Bon Appetit employees hired by Parkhurst have been provided the same pay rate and seniority as they had with Bon Appetit. Parkhurst has also benchmarked these salaries and they are consistent with compensation paid in dining by Lehigh Valley peers.

3. Work assignments: Parkhurst stressed that employees are at the center of everything they do, and that management has met with employees and assigned work locations and preferences based on employee feedback.

We also take seriously the concerns from and about individual employees that today’s story cited. We know Parkhurst is looking into those matters to ensure that at all times their employees are treated professionally and respectfully and conduct themselves in the same manner. The College and Parkhurst remain steadfast in a shared commitment to the more than 160 individuals that compose the dining staff, valuing their contributions to the community and partnering with them in their important work.

The dining management team is made up of individuals who have joined the Lafayette community from across the country, relocated their families and are working tirelessly to provide the very best dining experience for our students and entire community. We are proud to work with them.

If you have suggestions on ways to enhance our students’ dining experience, please feel free to contact either of us or the Lafayette Dining leadership team ([email protected]).

Sincerely,

Audra Kahr, Executive Vice President for Finance & Administration

Geoff Labe, Assistant Vice President for Business Services