‘Remain open-minded to other points of view and ways of solving problems’
Jennifer Piurek
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CAMPUS AUXILIARY EXPERIENCE
Jennifer chose IU Bloomington for graduate school in the late 1990s and expected to move on shortly after the program. More than 25 years later, she’s proud to call Bloomington home. She enjoys working to improve the experience of all IU students, faculty, staff, and visitors who use Campus Auxiliary Services (i.e.: everyone on campus). Her passion for reading informs her approach to service. “I think reading increases empathy because it puts you in the mind and worldview of others.”
Q: What initially led you to Indiana University—and what has inspired you to stay?
A: Graduate school in 1998. After college, I was an AmeriCorps volunteer in Tucson, Arizona. I opted to use my AmeriCorps educational stipend for graduate school in journalism at IU. I met my husband, Ryan, in the program and we were married in 2000. We initially planned to move east after graduation—I was born in New York and he is from Connecticut— but after 9/11, we decided to stay in Bloomington a little longer. We now have a son who graduated IU in May 2024 and a daughter in her senior year in high school. Our friends here are like family, and we love the community.
Q: What do you want people to know about your work that they may not know?
A: Campus Auxiliaries employees make the campus run smoothly so we can reach our goals in student success, research and innovation, and state impact. We have over *700 full-time employees and a staggering 1,275 part-timers, 1,187 of which are our students—so a commitment to student success means actively supporting a positive, growth-focused environment for our hundreds of student employees.
Campus Auxiliaries employees are on-call and reporting to work in inclement weather to clear and salt pathways, manage outages and repairs, communicate vital information, run transportation (which, incidentally, includes all campus bus, fleet, parking, biking, and rideshare programs) and keep campus dining on track. Speaking of dining, our staff also fuels the campus with food—in residence halls, retail locations, and cafes; through IU Catering; and at The Vault Pub and The Tudor Room (actually, all food and beverage services in the IMU) with attention to special diets and allergies. We operate the IU Hotel and Biddle Conference Center, the warehouse and surplus, mail and printing services, and early IU’s early childhood education services. *Data reflects January 20204 numbers.
Q: What's the best part of your job and why?
A:My job is focused on customer satisfaction, from students to faculty and staff to visitors and hotel guests. Working with student groups like the Meal Planning Committee, IU Student Government, and Union Board is energizing, and I always come away from these interactions newly motivated. Continually putting myself in the mind of the person using Campus Auxiliaries services has increased my personal gratitude, which is a nice bonus.
Q: Any current plans or projects to share? How does this work intersect with other parts of campus?
A: The IU Hotel is working with campus partners (the Faculty 100 initiative, IU Athletics, Office of Enrollment Management) on custom concierge packages for recruits and other visitors. These can include customized snack boxes and gifts (branded T-shirts, for example), transportation, tickets, and vouchers. Contact Mike Campbell with IU Dining & Hospitality at campbmic@indiana.edu for more info.
Q: What is your favorite dish or place to eat on campus?
A:I have a lot of food allergies, so I really appreciate and enjoy the Free From IX station at McNutt (icy fruit smoothies! Chicken and rice!) and the Worry Free area at Forest (gluten-free waffles! No shellfish in sight!). I also like eating at The Globe in the IMU, where the local restaurants come to us. The Vault Pub has an incredible menu originally created by IU’s Executive Chef, Dave Tallent. I like to call it elevated pub fare. The charcuterie board is perfect, and the menu includes lots of local food from Smoking Goose, Fischer Farms, Dillman Farm, Upland, Oliver Winery, and more that I’m probably forgetting. Even corn for popcorn delivered to all guests is purchased locally.
Q: Favorite IU event(s)?
A:First Thursdays on the Arts Plaza. I’ll never forget seeing the Marching 100 perform there, and over time watching my daughter paint with chocolate at the Eskenazi, learn stage combat, spin the Shakespearean insult wheel, and connect with IU students at the LGBTQ+ and Department of English booths. One day I looked up, and my daughter was the grown kid helping a younger child with an IU Corps activity. First Thursdays is always fun and inspiring, and there are always unexpected surprises.
Q: What do you like to do outside of work?
A: I love to read, browse in bookstores, and recommend books based on what I know about a person. I think reading increases empathy because it puts you in the mind and worldview of others. Some of my favorite authors: Jane Austen, George Saunders, Brit Bennett, Ann Patchett, Ross Gay (an IU faculty member!), Haruki Murakami, Salman Rushdie, Donna Tartt, Octavia Butler, Joyce Carol Oates …
I also enjoy drinking coffee, experimenting with new recipes, doing crossword and jigsaw puzzles, and the way I feel after convincing myself to do yoga, which I should do more. I like grocery shopping, especially at Aldi, with its “aisles of shame” (weekly rotating items that I don’t need but I NEED). My favorite thing is to hang out with my friends and my family, especially the rare times my husband and both kids are all together for a meal.
Q: What advice do you give people who want to do what you do professionally?
A: Study English, communications, and/or journalism, be delighted with language and fascinated by copy-editing guidelines, and have an interest in connecting with different audiences through vastly different messages and mediums. Remember to remain open-minded to other points of view and ways of solving problems. It’s better to try something creative and learn from a mistake than to never risk trying something new.
Q: Who should we profile next—and why?
A: Aneli Carrillo, our food and beverage director, who runs IU Catering. She is incredible and relatively new in the role.