5 Questions with Luke Leftwich

Leftwich is also the interim assistant vice provost of Auxiliary Business Operations and in that role oversees campuswide operations for such entities as campus bus, mail, document services, early learning, the IU Warehouse, parking, RPS services, transportation, and more. 

He and his wife, Anne, who is on the faculty at the School of Education, have been married 18 years and have three children: Ryjker, 11, and Bryn and Holland, 8. Leftwich loves the outdoors, hunting, Kentucky bourbon, and playing golf and soccer.  

He earned his Master of Science in education at Purdue University and his Bachelor of Arts from Western Michigan University.

Q: What do you like most about your job?  

A: There is NEVER a routine day in RPS. Whether it is dining, student life, or the physical facilities, there is a new challenge and opportunity each and every day when you oversee a community of 11,000 college students.  

Q: What do you want people to know about RPS that they might not know? How about campus auxiliaries?  

A: RPS is the engine that drives the campus experience. Our dining team serves 28,000 meals a day to hungry students. In the past six months, we have gone through 208,000 pounds of chicken; 71,000 pounds of eggs; 7,000 pounds of tofu; and we purchased $700,000 of fresh fruit! We also track food allergies to keep our students safe and healthy and ensure that they have plenty of options. We currently have 404 student meal plan holders with reported allergies, 200 of whom have some kind of nut allergy, so we make sure to offer plenty of allergy-friendly options.

Dining employs more than 1,100 students and has served more than 15,000 emergency meals to students in need through our Emergency Meal Project. RPS is operating 365 days per year, 7 days per week, and 24 hours per day.

Q: What are some of the broad generational differences you notice in today’s students compared with students in 2007, when you started working at IU? 

A: Students enroll at IU with more impressive accolades every year. I don’t know that we have ever had more academically prepared, involved students, and we get to help develop their life skills. At the same time, I can’t recall a time when students were in such dire need of support for their co-curricular and personal development. The pandemic amplified the need of talented and passionate staff who devote their time and energy into helping our students develop as people and professionals. At RPS, we take that responsibility seriously and are always striving to meet our students where they're at developmentally.

Q: Let’s talk Disney. I heard a rumor that you and your family are big fans.

 A: My partner and better half has always been a huge Disney fan! The Disney bug didn’t bite me until I took a phenomenal group of IU students to compete in a case competition in Florida and we enjoyed the park experience with Disney staff and execs. We didn’t win the case competition, but I did come back from Florida and book the first of our family’s Disney cruise vacations. We look forward to sailing to new destinations as our kids get older, and we can experience more excursions when we port.

Q: What’s your favorite place on campus?  

A: I am clearly biased, but I love taking my lunch with our students and colleagues in the Wright Dining Hall food court. The dining staff is friendly and always smiling, the space is historic, and the cuisine is eclectic. There are so many nooks and crannies and beautiful spaces on campus, but I can’t think of a better place to take in the vibe of campus life like at one of the RPS dining courts.