For 30 HBCUs, "The Magic Man Is Here"

Photo credit: Sodexho Corp. Richard Macedonia, president and CEO of Sodexho, Inc., center, and Earvin "Magic" Johnson, right, discuss their firms' new partnership after a news conference at Sodexho headquarters.

By Anthony Anamelechi
Black College Wire

Earvin "Magic" Johnson's announcement of a joint venture with Sodexho, Inc., one of the nation's largest food-service providers, means new business opportunities for 30 HBCU campuses.

"The Magic Man is here," Johnson said. "We're going to make a difference in the marketplace, and we're going to win."

Thirty historically black colleges and universities are among Sodexho, Inc.'s client base of more than 6,000 colleges, healthcare centers, schools and military sites. Under SodexhoMagic, LLC, the joint venture of Sodexho and Magic Johnson Enterprises, HBCUs such as Morehouse College and Howard, Fisk and Florida A&M universities will gain access to other businesses in which the NBA all-star has an interest.

Charles Johnson, vice president of business marketing for SodexhoMagic, appeared at a June 12 news conference with the former NBA player at Sodexho's headquarters in Gaithersburg, Md., outside Washington. He said the campuses will be able to make additional money that can be passed on to students.

"Mr. Johnson has been a pioneer in the community in terms of giving back," Charles Johnson said. This venture will be another opportunity for him to show that, providing services that he said would only be found with the new company.

One opportunity, Charles Johnson said, would be developing joint-venture technology centers on campus "to help bridge the relationship between the universities and the inner city." These centers will "provide opportunities for at-risk and underprivileged individuals to come and learn and have access to the Internet," he said. "We plan to break the digital divide."

The HBCUs serviced by SodexhoMagic also might send students to the annual Magic Johnson Leadership Conference. There, students will be able to interact with business executives to receive mentoring, and one-on-one time with Magic Johnson to talk about career planning, said Charles Johnson.

Sodexho and its clients will be able to use Johnson's name and likeness in promotional material, Richard Macedonia, president and CEO of Sodexho, Inc., said, adding that Johnson would make personal appearances at clients' places of business.

The NBA great-turned-entrepreneur said the new venture would give universities and colleges opportunities for successful fundraisers.

The arrangement also provides the universities access to such partners as Starbucks, Burger King, Sony and Lincoln Mercury, along with Johnson's T.G.I. Friday's restaurant franchises. The partners might create additional scholarships, the company said.

SodexhoMagic, Inc. plans to add to its list of 30 HBCUs, the officials said.

Sodexho, Inc. provides food service, housekeeping, groundskeeping, plant operations and maintenance, asset management, and laundry services to more than 6,000 corporations, health care centers, schools, college campuses and military sites in North America.

Anthony Anamelechi is a student at Florida A&M University.

Posted June 16, 2006