Matthew W.

Background

About Matthew W.

Following a successful career in the food industry, Mr. Werth joined Syracuse University in the fall of 2023 as the Director of Campus Dining with Auxiliary Services. As part of his responsibility, Mr. Werth will oversee Residential, Retail and Athletic Dining. Highly focused on achieving exceptional levels of execution, customer service, and financial performance, Mr. Werth has leveraged his years of expertise to become proficient in change management. Having previously held various food service leadership roles in Iowa, Mr. Werth spent several years managing several successful restaurant concepts, including P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Red Lobster, and Biaggi’s. Mr. Werth subsequently accepted a position with ARAMARK Healthcare as a contractor at UnityPoint Finley Hospital in Dubuque, Iowa. The opportunity allowed him to transition away from the restaurant industry, leading to his promotion from a food service director to a multi-service line director in 2013 and general manager between 2014 and 2015. Just before being recruited to Penn State in early 2023, Mr. Werth earned significant expertise as an operations manager with Housing and Dining at the University of Iowa. Adding to his credibility, Mr. Werth was a food service suite guest presenter for CBORD, a leading food service software solutions company, in the fall of 2018. He focused on a food cost initiative involving the creation of a performance approach to cross train his team to spend more time with their student customers, student employees and hourly employees. Mr. Werth also spoke in Denver, Colorado at the National Association of College Food Service Conference in 2019. He delivered a collaborative lecture with the Registered and Licensed Nutrition Specialist for the University of Iowa. They presented material focused on how to implement a Top 8 Allergen Plus Gluten Station named, “Thrive.” The Allergen Menu was created by an award-winning chef at Burge Marketplace with a focus on creating healthy, sustainable everyday food for students with allergens to feel included in their dining experience. Mr. Werth holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Northern Iowa since 1996. Mr. Werth's ability to remain focused and accomplish his personal team-driven goals has been critical to his success. He also notes valued established relationships garnered from colleagues; university peers and team members create a high performing dining program.