Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
New Brightwater chief aims to build school’s reputation
BENTONVILLE — Marshall Shafkowitz, the new leader of Northwest Arkansas Community College’s Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food, would like the culinary school to earn a reputation for greatness on an international scale.
First, the school must make a name for itself in its hometown, he said.
“You’ve got to be the first choice in the community,” Shafkowitz said. “You’ve got to be the first choice in the state. Then, you’ve got to be a choice in the nation. Then, you can go international.”
He wants the community to know Brightwater’s doors are always open.
“I know there was some angst, because I’ve heard it from people who live in the
community: ‘I didn’t know I could walk in.’ Absolutely. Any time you want. It’s part of the hospitality industry. This is our house, you come in,” he said.
The college’s culinary school was in the Center for Nonprofits in Rogers before the former Tyson Food plant at 801 S.E. Eighth St. was renovated into the 8th Street Market in Bentonville.
The school was renamed Brightwater when it moved into its new location and became an anchor tenant at 8th Street Market. Classes began there in January 2017.
Brightwater offers an array of culinary programs, but it’s not a “typical” culinary school, Shafkowitz said. He aims for a holistic approach, instilling in students an understanding of the food system by educating them on what it takes to get food from the farm to the table.
“So when we talk about the farm that’s sitting right out here, we have our students go out and take part in the growing of products they use in the classrooms,” he said. “We visit the local farms, so the students can hear from farmers the good, the bad, the ugly — what it takes to run that entire business to put that one apple in their tool kit, so they really know how to use it.”
A CULINARY LIFE
The college picked Shafkowitz this summer as Brightwater’s second executive director. He replaced Glenn Mack, the founding director who resigned in October 2018 after three years on the job. Mack never gave a reason for his departure. He is campus director of the Culinary Institute of Virginia in Norfolk, Va., according to his LinkedIn page.
Shafkowitz, 47, grew up in New York City, where his parents owned a French bistro. His mother routinely dropped him off at the restaurant after picking him up from school.
The restaurant was his “babysitter,” he said. Shafkowitz became fascinated with the cooking activity surrounding him. He was 8 when he began helping out, standing on milk crates while cooking the fries, he said.
He spent his early career in various chef positions before earning a master’s degree in teaching with a concentration in food service education in 2000 from Johnson and Wales University, according to his LinkedIn page.
He was a high school teacher in Massachusetts, then a program director at a for-profit culinary college in Alabama. In 2004, he became executive chef and vice president of academic affairs for Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Chicago, a job in which he spent six years before advancing to director of academic operations for all Le Cordon Bleu schools in the country.
After a couple of more career moves, he was hired in 2015 as executive dean of the Washburne Culinary and Hospitality Institute of City Colleges of Chicago — one of the oldest culinary schools in the nation.
Shafkowitz heard about Brightwater through Mack. The two worked for Le Cordon Bleu at the same time. Shafkowitz said he knew nothing about Northwest Arkansas before he was recruited for the Brightwater job. His first visit last spring convinced him it was a worthy move.
“There’s nothing like it in the U.S. right now,” he said about the Brightwater job opportunity.
The college announced its hiring of Shafkowitz in August.
He, his wife and three children — 7-year-old twins and a 5-year-old — moved to Bentonville in September.
‘WINNING COMBINATION’
Tim Cornelius, the college’s vice president of career and workforce education and Shafkowitz’s boss, said it’s a pleasure to work with him.
“He’s got a great culinary background, but you couple that with a great higher education background, and that’s a winning combination,” Cornelius said.
Shafkowitz is student-focused and appreciates the study of food as both an art and a science, Cornelius said.
“I think under his leadership, working with his faculty and staff, it will become a real destination for people,” he said.
The Walton Family Foundation has supported development of Brightwater and the 8th Street Market with grants totaling more than $15 million. Karen Minkel, the foundation’s home region program director, was a nonvoting member of the committee choosing Shafkowitz.
“I think it’s going to be exciting to see what Marshall does in this new role,” Minkel said. “He came with strong recommendations. One of the things that struck me was the ties to the community that he built at his prior institution. I am sure we’ll see that perspective come through in his work with Brightwater.”
The foundation supports Brightwater because it recognizes a need for culinary skills in the community, she said.
Asked if Brightwater has met the foundation’s expectations, Minkel said it’s a work in progress, adding any endeavor of Brightwater’s scale has a startup phase.
“The institution needs time to develop its culture and achieve ambitious goals,” she said. “I think Brightwater is well on its way. There have been lots of positives that we can point to, and I think there’s more to come.”
Shafkowitz said he’s had multiple conversations with the foundation. All have been positive, and the foundation has been open to hearing his perspective, he said.
He said many people want to talk to him and share their views, which he’s open to hearing.
“I want to know their perspective, whether it’s good or it’s bad. What worked, what didn’t work, so I can actually learn from that history,” Shafkowitz said.
“Because, ultimately, we want Brightwater to become a destination for students who are seeking a culinary education a little different than what’s in their backyards.”