Half a century is a long time, for an individual, a company or an association. More than enough time to permit realistic assessments about the success of individual careers, business strategies or a membership culture.

On the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS), it is the latter that stands out impressively under even the most intense scrutiny.

NACUFS from its very beginning has given its members a culture of sharing, personal and professional development and community service, core values that have remained remarkably consistent over the intervening five decades. At the same time, it has demonstrated an organizational resiliency that helped it evolve with the times and one that today is well positioned to address the challenges that the membership looks to face in the future.

On NACUFS 50th anniversary, FM compiled this special section to look back at the group's memorable past and to look ahead at its beckoning future.

The early years

1981—Ted Minah, who served as NACUFS fourth president (1963), is shown here on the Duke University campus shortly after his retirement.

According to historical records collected by NACUFS' Region IV chapter, the origins of the association can be found in informal meetings held at the National Restaurant Show in Chicago in the years prior to 1958. NRA publicized these meetings for college foodservice personnel and provided a room for them to meet at the Navy Pier, where the show was held in those days.

They provided attendees with a sense of a campus dining community and a place to discuss common challenges such as staff training, the rapid growth in postwar college enrollments and the need for better standards for campus dining programs.

In February of 1958, one of the participants, Central Michigan University's University Center Director Richard Lichtenfelt, sent out a series of letters to his colleagues proposing the formation of a national trade association for college and university foodservice managers. Twenty of them met at CMU in July of that year and founded NACUFS with a goal of furthering professionalism in the field and to encourage leadership and community service.

Lichtenfelt became NACUFS' first president, followed by Robinson Lappin from the University of Maryland. In the interest of providing continuity to the fledgling group, each served two years before the association moved to annual elections. From the beginning, the association relied on a regional structure and volunteer management. Helen Wild in particular was cited by many for her work as corresponding secretary, managing the formal communications of the group.

NACUFS' first national conference was held in May of 1959 during the NRA show at the Allerton Hotel on Michigan Avenue. “There were about 60 of us there,” says John Friese, an early member who at the time ran dining services at Kent State University. “We met at the hotel's ‘Tip Top Tap.’”

A constitution and by-laws were established, a board voted into office and eight regional chapters were formed. The conference program featured a symposium, “Creativity in College and University Food Service Work,” and closed with an address by Donald Greenaway, who was then the executive vice president of the National Restaurant Association.

1971 - NACUFS board members at a summer meeting take a moment to display an early version of the organization’s logo. (Source: Clark DeHaven)