Today’s students may not know Randy Lait, but they have certainly experienced the benefits of his contributions to NC State’s campus dining. For 36 years, Lait was a member of the NC State Dining team, and in that time he made a significant impact on the university’s dining operations, helping keep the campus community healthy and well fed. He began in NC State Dining as a student employee, then went on to spend a large portion of his career serving the Wolfpack community through various positions culminating in senior director of administrative services for Campus Enterprises.
Lait recently was honored with the David R. Prentkowski Distinguished Lifetime Member award by the National Association of College and University Food Service (NACUFS). The award honors individuals who have retired from a college and university foodservice leadership position and have supported the betterment of college and university food services through their university and beyond.
His accomplishments and contributions to NC State Dining and collegiate foodservice as a whole were also recognized in 2019, when he was honored with the Silver Plate Award from the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA).
Lait’s recognition for this award is a source of pride for the department.
“From his start as a student employee to his role as a leader setting the vision for NC State Dining, Randy exemplified the Think and Do motto of the university, applying both his NC State education and experience to drive change and excellence in the campus’s food services,” said Rich Berlin, associate vice chancellor for Campus Enterprises. “It is wonderful to see his contributions to the college and university foodservice community at large recognized by NACUFS as the recipient of the 2022 David R. Prentkowski Distinguished Lifetime Member Award.”
Lait is co-founder of Menu Analytics, a consultancy that helps restaurants and collegiate food service operations optimize menus and dietary choices with menu transparency, allergen audits, and program design.