Story by Dylan Doyle, Contributing writer
President Bob Davies, an occasional Winslow Dining Hall omelet chef, spent Thursday and Friday morning preparing breakfast for students and workers amid campus delays and closures.
“Dr. Davies always makes a point to come out and help when we are shorthanded,” Cynthia Parrish, front supervisor at Winslow Dining Hall, said.
Winslow and other campus dining services are often forced to operate without a full workforce when faced with inclement weather, Parrish said.
The students brave enough to venture out into a frozen campus witnessed Davies taking orders and making customized omelets featuring a variety of vegetables and meats.
Tyler Hardin, junior from Jackson, Tennessee, said Davies is a great example of a president involved in campus life.
“It is awesome that he is so visible to the whole campus,” Hardin said.
A smiling Davies explained that he volunteers at Winslow to meet students and express gratitude to the university personnel charged with clearing sidewalks and making campus as safe as possible during icy conditions.
“It gives me an opportunity to get out here and connect with students,” Davies said.
Davies also explained that he enjoys cooking at Winslow, because it reminds him how far he has come since starting his career.
“My first job ever was working at a university dining commons,” Davies said. “There is no job on a university campus that is unimportant.”
Scott Owen, a Murray State employee, spent Thursday morning shoveling sidewalks and removing ice from sidewalks. He ate a signature Davies omelets in preparation for exposure to the below-freezing temperatures.
“The food was pretty good, actually. I like it,” Owen said. “Davies looked like he was having lots of fun at the grill.”
Aside from the omelets, what caught Owen’s attention was the uniqueness of having a university administrator volunteering in the cafeteria.
“You just do not see that too often,” Owen said.