Originally the school itself prepared the food that was served in the dining hall, providing very few food options, often prepared by students and other employees hired directly by the college. However, in 1971, an outside food provider was contracted to begin serving at Fitchburg State College. The company was called Dining and Kitchen Association, or DAKA for short, and students began to informally refer to the dining hall as DAKA. Despite the name change, and even after Chartwells took over the dining contract in 1990, the name DAKA remains popular among students, even though the majority don’t realize this was the name of the food provider and not the building. This persists even though an official name has been established and a new food provider has been serving the campus for many years, perhaps simply because the old name is catchy. Nevertheless, the building's official name is the Roger F. Holmes Dining Hall.

 

President Vincent J. Mara took office in 1976 and noted that the college buildings were only referred to by functional names. He established a "Naming of the Buildings Committee," and on May 6, 1977, a formal ceremony was held to dedicate naming the buildings. 

 

The dining commons was officially named the ‘Roger F. Holmes Dining Commons’ or ‘Holmes Dining’ for short. Roger F. Holmes was a well-known person on campus who served the institution as both a professor and a dean, and he had military experience.