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Press
Release
Grinnell College Office of Communication and Events
Article to appear in the Journal of the National Association
of College Auxiliary Services
For a complete FAXed article, contact Dann Hayes at hayesmd@grinnell.edu
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Imagine
relaying to administration the following situation: "One of
our critical departments faces impending staff retirements; it operates
with antiquated equipment; and it is not providing the services
that our customers want." Perhaps as an administrator you have
experienced a similar situation during recent years/ financial tightening.
In the following narrative, an internationally known Mid-western
college turned this particular challenge into an opportunity for
improved services and enhanced college and community relations.
As
is common in rural Iowa, the Grinnell downtown retailers increasingly
face competition from large retail chains that establish facilities
on the town periphery. At times, these communities struggle to keep
downtown relation spaces occupied.
A
Self-Operating Campus
For
decades, Grinnell College was a self sufficient operation. Outsourcing
was kept to a minimum primarily for budgetary and control reasons.
The "Service Bureau" originated on campus during the 1960s,
providing basic copy services to campus offices through the use
of mimeograph machine. Thirty-five years later, the Service Bureau
had experienced few changes but substantial growth. The mimeograph
had long since been upgraded to an imposing photocopier machine,
but it too was well beyond its life expectancy. With only one full-service
photocopier at the operations, work requests occasionally accumulated—especially
when the equipment was out of service or in repair.
Vicki J.
Wade is a Service Specialist with the Office of College Services
at Grinnell College.
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