Page 30 - och1016_Magazine

The Back Page
Employee
Retention
at Georgia Southern
Georgia Southern University’s beautiful campus
draws you in at first glance with its old Southern
architecture and majestic oak trees dotting the
landscape. The university has a strong established his-
tory of pride and tradition with an intense belief in the said, “Georgia Southern and Statesboro have always
truth of one of these traditions: the water in beautiful
Eagle Creek holds magic. Eagle Dining Services (EDS)
has found the right mixture of that magic to make it
the landing place for many Georgia Southern gradu-
ates who choose to make Statesboro, Ga., and Georgia
Southern home, even after they have diplomas in hand.
EDS employs a little over 100 full-time staff
members, with roughly a third of those being Geor-
gia Southern graduates who hold leadership positions
within the department. Among those alumni, a variety
of positions are occupied, starting from the top with
Jeff Yawn, executive director of EDS. Jeff is from the
Statesboro area and chose Georgia Southern because
he wanted to remain close to home. After graduation,
he began his career away from Georgia Southern, but
found himself back within EDS when an opportunity
presented itself to work at an on-campus retail loca-
tion. Since then, he has worked his way up through
the ranks of EDS to become the executive director of
the department.
I asked Jeff why he thought EDS has such a high
retention rate of Georgia Southern graduates. “I be-
lieve it’s because we as a community, both Georgia
Southern and Statesboro, are so tight knit and mutu-
ally connected to one another’s success. That creates
a strong bond for both sides, and has always helped
the students feel a part of the Statesboro community
while attending college here.”
Statesboro was founded in 1803 as a community
surrounding and supporting the growth and harvest of
cotton. A little over 100 years later in 1906, Georgia
Southern was founded as the First District Agricultural
& Mechanical School. Through the years, the school
has changed names, and on July 1, 1990, it became
the fifth member of the University System of Georgia,
becoming known as what it still is today — Georgia
Southern University. It’s the largest employer in States- and honor of becoming a part of Georgia Southern
boro, and Eagle Dining Services plays a broad role in
that employment, with 408 student workers and 587
total employees.
Eagle Dining Services Nutritional Coordinator Brit-
30 | OCTOBER 2016
BY KATIE MILLER
tany Parham, CDM,
CFPP, FMP, is also a
graduate of Georgia Southern University, and while
her hometown of Albany, Ga., is across the state, she
felt like home to me, and I stayed because it is my
home. Georgia Southern was my first choice of colleges
to attend and I am a proud third-generation Georgia
Southern graduate. My grandmother attended college
here when it was Georgia Teachers College, and I love
knowing I’m walking in the same steps she did.”
The feelings and emotions that Brittany experiences
about Georgia Southern and Statesboro are not unusual;
They are what EDS believes contribute to the retention
and return rate of graduates who seek employment
within the university, specifically within EDS.
Georgia Southern has experienced a steady increase
in enrollment over the past 10 years, which has helped
its recognition, and propel the university to a first school
of choice. It is a fully accredited institution with a
multitude of undergraduate and graduate degrees, and
offers all the amenities and services of a larger school
on a smaller campus. In 2014, the NCAA extended an
invitation to Georgia Southern to make the move from
the FCS [Football Championship Subdivision] Southern
Conference to the FBS [Football Bowl Subdivision]
Sun Belt Conference. The move brought with it added
national recognition, more opportunities to offer dif-
ferent degree options and an increase in enrollment.
The resulting growth also produced more employment
opportunities within EDS for both students and alumni.
It has been a win-win for the football program, the
university and Eagle Dining Services.
Community, tradition and pride are all synony-
mous in the South. Georgia Southern and Statesboro
both know that living True Blue is the only way to be.
Georgia Southern alumni who are EDS employees
will proudly be the first to educate others in the value
again, both as a graduate and as a member of Eagle
Dining Services. Georgia Southern University is an
extraordinary institution, and Eagle Dining Services
continues to build upon that solid foundation. —OCH
Katie Miller is marketing manager with Auxiliary
Services at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro.
ON-CAMPUS HOSPITALITY