The mailing services in the Auxiliary Services building will be moving to the University Center (UC) where Management Services is currently. The move is expected to happen during the spring semester and the summer session, Vice President of Auxiliary Services Ken Boyer said.
Mailing services is moving because of student requests and survey results. Auxiliary Services worked closely with the Student Government Association (SGA) to find ways to improve mailing services, Boyer said.
“We wanted to consolidate all postal services in one location, packages and letters, to make mail delivery and processing more convenient for the Mercer community,” Boyer said.
The move is also a result of the volume of packages and mail that Auxiliary Services receives.
Lateka Addy, a service specialist for Ricoh, gives Dana Chen, a Mercer freshman, her package at the Auxiliary Services building on Tuesday, March 27. Ricoh is the company contracted by Mercer to deliver mail on-campus.
In 2017 the Mail and Document Services staff processed over 60,000 student packages. They continue to see double digit growth in package volume each month, Boyer said.
“We have simply outgrown the current facilities,” Boyer said.
Both packages and letter services will be moved to the UC to make processing and delivery easier, Boyer said.
The mailboxes in the UC location will have 4200 boxes and the available space to expand to 4500.
There are currently 3800 mailboxes located in the Connell Student Center along with the official mailing services department. Boyer said that the administration is not sure what they will do with the available space after the services move, but he is looking into it.
The space on the main floor of the Auxiliary Services building will continue to be used for copy center operations, while mail center space on the ground level will be the new location for the National Management Services, the custodial department, that is being displaced from the UC.
“I’d say it’s a good central location as long as it doesn’t interrupt current traffic through the UC. I’m not sure I’d feel like it’s super beneficial but that’s just me,” sophmore Taylor Rinberger said.
The design team at Rich Managed Services handled the architectural design for the new mailing center and BHI construction will be taking care of the renovations.
“I think moving (mailing services) to the UC probably allows it to be more accessed by a lot more people than before,” sophomore Lawrence Fadoul said.
Michael Junod, a university staff member, and Ben Smith, the general manager of National Management Services, assisted in making the relocation possible, Boyer said.
Boyer said that the move is not expected to disrupt the distribution of mail, and students can expect to see the change when they arrive back to Mercer in the fall.
Mail services for students moving soon to the UC
The mail boxes in the Connell Student Center will be relocated to the University Center along with the rest of Mail and Document Services.
Jenna Eason
