Parsons et al. food court?

— It’s nice to see the students and those employed at Northwest Arkansas Community College enjoying the rewards of a new food court and enlarged bookstore on campus.

Finally, there is a spacious, clean complex to enjoy a meal from vendors the likes of Chick-fil-A, Blaze’n Burrito and Silver Joe’s, along with the Barnes & Noble that expanded its space by about 40 percent, and the addition of a convenience store.

None of the improvements were inexpensive. Barnes & Noble paid some $600,000 to expand its area while the college kicked in about $389,000 to renovate the food court.

The previous contract with food provider Aramark (that cost the college about $100,000 a year and, from what I hear, was not all that popular) is but a memory.

“As a student, this is a huge improvement for and service to us attending NWACC,” is how one person kindly summarized a lot of feelings. “This is freaking awesome,” said another.

Even more awesome, this new and improved arrangement actually stands to net the school some annual revenue. Sounds to me like a winning situation for everyone involved.

Now to my finer point. Who do you suppose spearheaded this effort by NWACC officials? You know, the person who made sure the deal for Barnes & Noble’s expansion and food court renovation went through smoothly? One might call him the person whose energies and imagination were the primary focal point behind seeing the idea through from inception.

Yes! Someone reading this morning got it right! The one deserving thanks, along with his staff, was none other than Marty Parsons, the school’s former chief financial officer and vice president of administrative services who was summarily fired by President Becky Paneitz on August 1.

The board subsequently denied Parsons’ request for an appeal hearing, leaving him no opportunity for due process. Just wham, bam, you’re fired on the spot without notice because the president said so and the board backed her up. But that’s just more tired old news, right?

So I asked Parsons about these latest improvements, phase one of which was completed in May when Barnes & Noble wrapped up its expansion. The food court opened just over a week ago, a few weeks after Parsons’ departure.

And although it’s common knowledge among many on campus that Parsons’ leadership saw these changes through from conception in late 2011, he was quick to spread the credit around.

“Please understand that we didn’t operate our administrative services division in a way that would simply say ‘it was all me,’ ” he said. “We worked on things together, as a team, and made decisions as a team. When it was brought to my attention that we were spending that much money on Aramark (brought to me early on by Gulizar Baggson, the director of the budget office) I made the decision for us to investigate our options.”

But that also was done to a significant degree by his former administrative team, he added.

“Jim [Lay] and Jack [Thompson] did the heavy lifting once all the decisions were made,” he said. “Jack and Ethan Beckcom put together the contracts for my review; Lay and Bill Downing worked with Barnes & Noble architects to get the plans drawn up. And the rest of my staff were all informed and provided valuable input all along. This was our standard operating procedure.”

He and his staff also had to make tough decisions. For instance, he said one popular sandwich chain expressed interest in the food court, but its executives also insisted on a binding 10-year contract. Parsons thought that was too long to commit the college to signing without an exit agreement.

In the end, things came together for the school just as Parsons hoped.

“We were all so very proud of this project because this was something the administrative services division could do to have a real, positive impact for the students. And in doing so, we provided a regular revenue stream to the college,” he said. “None of us could understand why this situation had gone on so long as a drain on college resources.”

Now there’s a legitimate question on behalf of taxpayers.

Why was the old arrangement that cost the school a lot of dollars each year (and for much less than the amenities and products now offered) allowed to continue for several years? The expensive Aramark agreement, which I understand began about 2008, wasn’t anywhere near as popular with those on campus forced to rely on it.

And with a clause in the contract that allowed for either side to withdraw with three to four month’s notice, why wasn’t the stopper put in this tub long before Parsons’ arrival? Parsons says he gave Aramark no more than a four-month notice to vacate.

Seems to me the good folks at NWACC owe the terminated Mr. Parsons—and the leadership he displayed here with his team—a debt of gratitude, maybe even a standing ovation, for looking after their concerns and interests.

In fact, here’s an idea. If not an appeal hearing, why not recognize his efforts by naming the new dining complex the Marty Parsons et al. Food Court? He and his staff certainly earned as much.

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Mike Masterson’s column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at [email protected].

Editorial, Pages 17 on 09/22/2012

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