‘Heart and Soul’ of Smith: An Interview with Kathy Zieja

During her nearly four decades of service to Smith, Director of Dining Services Kathy Zieja has weathered a hurricane, two major economic downturns, four college presidential inaugurations, a vegetarian “hoax“—and more.

Through it all, Zieja—who is retiring June 26 after 38 years at the college—has been “the consummate professional,” colleagues say; smart, humble, compassionate and uncommonly devoted to Smith students.

“She is attached to the students and really puts their needs first,” said Rick Rubin, area manager in dining services. “She works late at night and on weekends. I’ve never heard her say, ‘I’m busy, come back later.’”

Rubin noted that it is not unusual for him to receive after-hours texts from Zieja from the aisles of Stop & Shop, where she has gone to pick up a food item for a student with special dietary needs.

Co-workers say Zieja also has a talent for working together with college staff, faculty and programs such as the Center for the Environment, Ecological Design and Sustainability (CEEDS).

“Kathy is patient, collaborative and always willing to consider new ideas and possibilities,” said Merrilyn Lewis, the college’s associate director for events management. “And she does it all with a smile on her face.”

Under Zieja’s leadership, Smith’s dining services has been named one of the top 50 college food operations in the country.

Her department has also won accolades—and grant awards—for sustainable food practices such as composting, eliminating Styrofoam and buying fair-trade and locally grown food products.

A party in Zieja’s honor will be held Friday, June 12, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Conference Center. The event is open to the Smith community.

The college’s next director of dining services is Andy Cox, former general manager and director of sustainability for dining services at the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Conn. Cox, who has a background in sustainability and health-conscious cooking, begins work at Smith June 15.

When asked about Zieja’s legacy, colleagues point to the link between dining services and a welcoming campus culture at Smith.

“What stands out most is her caring and compassion,” said Ann Finley, area manager in dining services—who is herself retiring in July after 26 years at Smith.

“Kathy answers frequent calls from parents and will give them all the time in the world,” Finley added. “She purchases things on her own time to meet student special needs. She’s a problem solver who is always right there.”

At this year’s Spotlight Awards ceremony for college staff, Larry Hunt, associate vice president for human resources, summed up Zieja’s contributions this way: “Kathy has touched so many lives on campus,” he said. “She is part of the heart and soul of Smith College.”

Here’s what Zieja had to say about her years at the helm of dining services:

What drew you to Smith when you started in 1977?
Zieja: “I was a nutrition major at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and I had worked for a couple of years for the Massachusetts Department of Education. We were relocating back to the Pioneer Valley after my husband got offered a job at Amherst College. [Stan Zieja is a retired director of sports medicine at Amherst]. Smith was my first exposure to the college segment of the food service arena. That seemed intriguing. And the fact that it was an institution like Smith was also great!”

What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in dining services over the years?
Zieja: “Things are very different now. Back when I started, we had 26 kitchens in different houses on campus. We didn’t work as collaboratively with other departments as we do now. And only slowly in those early years were we starting to respond to some of the vegetarian requests, with things like cheese omelets and vegetable lasagna. I was promoted to associate director of dining operations and then to director in 1996. During that time, we downsized from 26 kitchens to 19 because of the economic downturn. We had been looking at changing how we were providing dining services even before that. The college had the wisdom to say, ‘Let’s study what we’re doing and improve our services.’ We studied dining for six months and then made the recommendation to reduce the number of kitchens.”

How were you able to manage such a major shift in essential campus services?
Zieja: “I faced that challenge with my staff. I’ve also always had a strong focus on our customers, the students. We’re here for them. With the changes we made in dining operations, we’re meeting our students’ demands with greater choice, longer meal hours, more flexibility. We have vegan meals at Gillett House, we have kosher dining and Asian options and we’ve recently opened vegan/pescatarian Asian dining in Morrow/Wilson. Between our catering service and our Campus Center, we’ve had the opportunity to serve so many other guests on campus. Our students are also much more involved in our planning than in the past. If we weren’t responsive to students, we would fail.”

Smith’s dining services has won national recognition for its eco-friendly practices. What’s been the secret to that success?
Zieja: “Our students had the idea to do food composting long before we had a sustainability director on campus. We started in one unit and you could see their enthusiasm, and we began to think, ‘This is an opportunity for us.’ We got a local farmer to take the compost. Now that’s mandated in the food service industry. What also made a difference was being awarded the Henry P. Kendall Foundation grant in 2014 to support our sustainable practices. That allowed us to do more research and move closer to our goal of having 30 percent of the food we use be locally grown. Our students are now studying the Real Food Challenge to raise that proportion even higher.”

What moments have stood out most for you about your time at Smith?
Zieja: “Being part of the inaugurations of four Smith presidents. Those have been opportunities to do something for the entire campus community—and for members of our staff to shine. To see my team come together and the pride they all take in those events is special. For Kathleen McCartney’s inauguration, we had receptions on the lawn and a campus lunch for students and guests. Her mom’s blonde brownies were on the menu, which was so much fun! For President Mary Maples Dunn’s event, we had a big garden reception in the Quad, and I got to meet and work with Julia Child ’34. She helped us design the menus, and she was so gracious and loving and funny. Other things that have made Smith special to me: my first Commencement, the annual Ivy Day parade. I get what it means to be a Smithie.”

Was cooking part of your upbringing?
Zieja: “Food was always important. My background is Irish, and my grandmother was a domestic worker. I grew up in Brighton, Mass. My dad worked at the State House, and my mom had a master’s in French and Spanish—which was unusual at the time. My parents knew about the importance of education. When I graduated college, nutrition was an interesting new field that I wanted to be part of.”

What will you miss most about your job at Smith?
Zieja: “The people—especially the students. That’s what keeps you young! Smith is a special place, and there’s a part of me that’s a little sad to go. One thing that’s made the job attractive over the years is that there’s always been a new challenge I’ve wanted to see through. I’ve learned something every day from someone on campus. Still, I think I’m leaving at a good point. This is a very exciting time at Smith. I know someone else can take up the challenges.”