GENERAL NEWS
Together at last: Lost and Found goes home
The University Lost and Found moved this summer from the IMU parking ramp
to the offices of Public Safety
in the lower level at University Capitol Centre. It had been housed at the ramp and operated
by Parking Services due to lack of space in Public Safety, which had administrative
responsibility. The new Campus Mail addresses are: Public Safety, 808 UCC; and Lost and Found,
809 UCC. The U.S. Postal Service address is: 808 University Capitol Centre, Iowa City
IA 52242-5500.
Staff volunteer to work UI exhibit at state fair
Business Services employees Gary Anderson, Chris Kula, Judy Williams,
and Rhonda Weaver worked as volunteers on August 15 at the University's exhibit at the
Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. Staff from Business Services have worked at the Fair for
several years. It is a great way to meet people from all over the state and let them
know not only what is going on at the University of Iowa, but also the benefits we provide
for everyone in the state. It is interesting to see high-school students picking up literature
on different aspects of the University and their excitement when they talk about becoming
students and Hawkeyes.
Gary Anderson
Education, outreach, and training for customers
Central Mail
"Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Central Mail Services" provides an open
forum on mailing that will allow for a wide range of discussion; any and all mailing
questions are encouraged. It is scheduled for September 12, 11 a.m. to noon. Register
for the class through UI Learning and Development,
www.uiowa.edu/~fusstfdv.
Also, Central Mail makes presentations tailored to each department's mailing needs,
to provide information and money-saving suggestions. Contact
Chris Kula.
New staff orientation
Business Services staff participate in Learning and Development's monthly
new faculty and staff orientation.
Contact Linda Noble,
Parking Services, or Jenean Arnold,
other Business Services departments.
Tours
Groups are welcome to tour Printing, Mail, and General Stores at the Mossman Building.
Contact Jenean Arnold.
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CENTRAL MAIL SERVICES
Delivery-point validation required for mail discounts
As of August 1, mail customers who presort and intend to claim discounted postage
rates must have their address files cleansed using an approved process. The Postal Service began
requiring customers to use its new software, Delivery Point Validation (DPV), to ensure the accuracy
of address information on that date.
DPV enables mailers to identify potentially undeliverable addresses in their
mailing lists. The current address-matching software products can only confirm whether an address
falls within the low-to-high address range encoded for the named street. DPV, however, indicates
whether the address actually exists.
Customers who use Central Mail's automated addressing will have their
files cleansed prior to address application. The AccuZip software which Mail uses will
apply DPV after addresses are cleansed. If you use mailing labels, have your address lists
cleansed before printing them. We highly recommend you send them to Central Mail for this.
When the Post Office provides address corrections, mailers must incorporate them before their next
mailing.
Improving the quality of address information benefits both the mailer and the
Postal Service: the mailer from reduced mailing costs and other expenses that sending mail to
inaccurate addresses causes, and the Postal Service from reduced volumes of undeliverable-as-addressed
mail, resulting in lower processing and handling costs.
Mailing Smarter: A place for everything
- Make sure your return address and any other postal address is not within the OCR Read Area.
Otherwise your mail may be returned to you instead of going to the intended mailing address.
- Leave enough room for the address. Central Mail asks that you leave a 4x4-inch area for
spraying addresses on.
- Do not have copy in the barcode clear zone. If you do, the Post Office may cover it with
white tape.
- Central Mail is your best friend when it comes to saving your money. The earlier you
consult with us in the design process, the more impact we can have in helping reduce your
postage costs and speeding your mail through the postal system.
Chris Kula
Close enough for government work...
...and mighty close it is. The postage remaining on a Central Mail meter recently was
a minute one-thousandth of a cent. But it had to be applied to a mail piece, for accounting purposes.
Staff used a new meter to add the remaining postage - 38.999 cents. Picky, picky, picky.
Central Mail celebrates 75 years at Iowa
Happy seventy-fifth birthday, Central Mail! The first listing for the SUI Mailing
Department, as it was called then, appears in the Fall 1932 university directory (herd book),
according to David McCartney, University archivist in the Libraries' Department of Special Collections.
Over the years the mailing service went through several different configurations
and moved a few times. It landed at the Mossman building in 1996 and has since evolved into Central
Mail Services, providing parcel, metering, and bulk mail assistance to the University of Northern Iowa
as well as UI, and distributing intracampus and incoming Postal Service mail here on campus.
In memoriam: Former employee dies in auto accident
Judy Stromer, a former Central Mail employee, died May 26, 2007, from injuries she
received in a car accident near Ladora, Iowa. She was a UI graduate, with a degree in anthropology.
She enjoyed traveling, reading, and her pets. She was devoted to her family, which includes four
daughters, their families, and her father. A "Character Counts" article featured her in the
November/December 1998 issue of
Into Print.
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GENERAL STORES
Be aware (or beware) the office supply competition
"My company can save you lots of money on office supplies. Everything is
cheaper from us. We have the best service. We beat them all the time. Everyone on campus is
ordering from us!"
I am sure your department has heard such comments from office supply
vendors, some local, some national, some legitimate, some maybe not. They may contact you by
telephone, email, or in person. So how should you respond?
First, thank you for turning them down. General Stores manages
a University-wide contract which focuses on obtaining the best pricing and quality for office
supplies. It is a multimillion dollar statewide contract that includes Iowa State University,
the state of Iowa, and several cities and municipalities - and the list is growing.
The suppliers who are begging for your business most likely had a chance
to bid on the contract and either did not do so or bid too high. Because they did not get the
bid, they now want to come in the back door, without successfully going through the bid process.
The University of Iowa, through General Stores' contract management, has
access to more than 30,000 items at OfficeMax. We spend considerable time making sure we have
the best pricing, concentrating on the top 1,000 items. It is convenient for a vendor to compare
items to our contract but substitute different manufacturers or stock numbers. If you find we
have a higher price on an item, let me know. I can either find the OfficeMax stock number for
an accurate comparison, or, in the unlikely event that our price is not competitive, I can seek
a price adjustment from OfficeMax. Our contract does not set pricing by individual department
or request, but is consistent throughout the University and the other institutions. It makes
it unnecessary for departments to each have an office supply buyer.
Our OfficeMax contract has saved UI departments over $700,000 in the past
thirty months. General Stores offers online MFK ordering through
MIGS and Pcard ordering
directly from OfficeMax. We just completed our best year ever at General Stores. Our OfficeMax
issuances are up 10 percent (19% at UIHC) over last year. This tells us our campus customers
think our pricing, quality, and service are the best.
So, what to tell the vendors? Let them know we already have an office
supply contract that is managed by General Stores, and, since General Stores provides this
service, you do not have to spend time as an office supply buyer. Tell them they can bid on
this contract when it comes up for renewal. If they have questions about the process, tell
them to contact Anne Sopher at University of Iowa Purchasing, 319-335-5078. You can also ask
to be removed from their email and telephone contact lists.
Then tell them thank you and go back to doing your job - because you an
count on us to do ours.
Gary Anderson
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PARKING & TRANSPORTATION
Fiscal year 2008 parking rates
| Public rates effective July 1, 2007 |
| Cashiered facilities |
$.85/hour,
$14 maximum |
| Permit rates effective August 1, 2007 |
| Ramp reserved |
$75/month |
| Surface reserved |
$44/month |
| Hancher/Arena lots |
$28/month |
| Commuter lots |
$19/month |
| Motorcycle |
$75/year |
| Surface night |
$22/month |
| Night and weekends |
$8/month |
| Ramp night |
$44/month |
Assistant manager appointed for Parking Services
Linda Hochstedler has joined Parking and Transportation as the new assistant
manager for Parking Services. Her office's responsibilities include issuing faculty, staff,
and student bus passes and parking permits; issuing temporary permits; making parking lot
assignments and maintaining waiting lists; and processing payment for parking tickets. She
started working in her new position in April.
Previously Hochstedler worked for the Tippie College of Business School
of Mangement, as marketing director in its Cedar Rapids Center. The college conducts an MBA
program for business professionals there. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration
degree from Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids.
P&T adds student vehicle registration to online services
Parking and Transportation has launched an online application which allows
students to register their vehicles through ISIS. Students may also use this application to
register their bicycles and apply for semester bus passes.
The application, created by the Information Management team in
Finance and Operations, is intended to make it easier for students to have access to
Parking Services. Now, students can complete their registration at home instead of coming
into the Parking office. P&T will also benefit from the application because it reduces the
amount of data entry required of staff and streamlines processes. It became available to
students in early July.
Previously, the majority of vehicle registrations had to be completed
in person. Only preregistration for residence hall storage permits and renewal permits for
the Hancher, Finkbine Commuter, and Hawkeye Commuter lots were done by mail. This amounted
to approximately 900 permits. With the online program, almost all of the 6,000 student
permits and 2,000 semester bus passes can be issued without the students ever having to
step into the Parking office.
For more details, go to
www.uiowa.edu/~parking/announcements.html.
Michelle Ribble
Construction, services, alternative transportation = productive year
Construction projects, new services, and increased participation in
alternative modes of transportation were among the previous year's highlights that Parking
and Transportation presented in its annual report to the Board of Regents in March. Besides
providing nearly 15,400 parking spaces for visitors, faculty, staff, and students (an
increase of 745 parking spaces since February 2006), the University has...
- Completed the Melrose Avenue parking ramp expansion, which provides 599 spaces south
of the Field House;
- Completed the reconstruction of Kinnick Stadium, which opened up several hundred displaced
spaces and moderately expanded parking capacity for UIHC employees;
- Implemented a new parking permit for physicians that allows 100 faculty-clinicians to park
adjacent to UIHC or the Carver College of Medicine;
- Expanded the number of spaces leased from the City of Iowa City to 467;
- Continued to accommodate peripheral parking facilities with Cambus. Cambus service links
nearly 7,000 parking spaces in peripheral lots to the center of campus, and it provided more
than 24,000 hours of service;
- Managed commuter programs such as van and car pools and discounted bus passes for the
Iowa City and Coralville transit systems. Van pool participation reached an all-time high
of 788 members, and overall membership in commuter programs increased by 260 participants;
- Installed a proximity card access system to control parking gates at 25 facilities. This
system provides greater flexibility, better monitoring, and better off-peak utilization; and
- Created an online waiting list for faculty and staff, which allows them to update their
preferred parking options and check their position on the waiting list.
Michelle Ribble
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PRINTING DEPARTMENT
Faculty: make UI Copy Centers your source for course packs
Copy Center Services is uniquely positioned to produce the most convenient,
most economical, and best quality course packs (custom educational materials that supplement
or replace textbooks) for you and your students. UI faculty members who publish course packs
have this on-campus resource literally at their fingertips.
Convenient for you. . .
The Copy Centers encourage network file transmission: you can place orders and send files right
from your computer, through the web to our server. We print the materials on a high-speed digital
printer and electronically archive them to ensure fast turnaround for reprints. We can burn CDs to
supplement the printed material, and we'll even make updates and corrections to archived files on
request.
Course packs containing no copyrighted information and fewer than 500
pages can often be finished in a week. For course packs that do contain copyrighted work,
we will obtain the proper permissions for you, but we need your materials four to six weeks
before you expect the course pack to be finished.*
And for your students
Copy Center staff will come directly to your building early in the semester and sell course
packs to students after class if you wish. Students may pay cash or charge the packets using
their student ID. The University Book Store at IMU stocks course packs, too. We print reorders
on demand from archived files, providing the exact quantity needed, typically within 24 to 48
hours and sometimes less.
Economical
UPACS are affordably priced because our aim is to serve the University, not make a profit.
We charge five cents per black-and-white copy, while the alternatives - your students either
download and print the files themselves or buy the packets from a commercial copy shop - can
cost as much as fifteen cents per copy. We also provide your instructors' desk copies free
of charge.
Quality product
Each page in a course pack is produced as a first-generation print from a digital file on
a high-resolution printer. We will scan and clean up images on request. You may choose from
a wide range of paper colors and weights, order color copies for photos and illustration,
and select your preferred finishing: GBC, tape, or color plastic coil binding; stapling; or
shrink wrapping.
Easy to order
Order forms are available from the UPACS office. You may complete one by phone if you wish,
but first get a requisition or an m-number from your department's accounting division. For more
information contact Ken Knopik, 335-3410, upacs-printing@uiowa.edu. or go to the UPACS website,
www.uiowa.edu/~printsvc/docsvcs/upacs.html.
*About copyright: Many course packs contain some combination
of original manuscripts, book excerpts, published journal articles, photographs, and illustrations.
Copyright law protects these original works of authorship, published and unpublished. The copyright
owner must grant permission to use the work, and it is valid for one-time use only. The fair use
doctrine permits limited portions of works to be used, but course packs usually do not qualify
as fair use. Obtaining the permissions can take several weeks in some instances.
Time to send course pack materials for printing!
The Copy Centers have already printed a number of course packs for fall semester and
encourage faculty to send material soon to ensure timely completion.
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Order print quantity for entire mailing list
Sometimes when we print a newsletter, letter, card, or other material to be
mailed, we have to do another print run immediately because the quantity ordered falls short
of the number of names on the mailing list. Guess what? If the order is printed on an offset
press, it costs far more to print it in two runs than in one run, and it takes extra time.
Some people avoid the extra cost by deleting names from their mailing list when this happens.
This, too, takes extra time, and it reduces the publication's reach due to a smaller audience.
Save time, money, and headaches with this simple solution: Make sure you
order enough printed pieces. Count the number of entries on your mailing list and add a few
more if you expect additional requests. Then fill out your order. That's it. Contact your
Printing Department customer service representative or Helen Wilson at Central Mail with
questions.
CopyHawk offers parcel shipping via UPS
Students, staff, faculty, and campus visitors are now able to ship packages
via UPS at the IMU CopyHawk. Cash, checks, credit cards, and student and staff IDs are accepted.
Any individual may use the service.
"We can provide packaging. We weigh, fill out the shipping label, and
ship it out. We have a 3 p.m. cutoff time for same-day shipment," says CopyHawk employee
Kathy Gregory. "A lot of folks from the summer writing program have stopped in to have us
ship things home for them, like books they've purchased, so they don't have to carry them
around or take them on the plane."
Departmental shipments must still be made directly through Central Mail,
using the online shipping forms at
www.uiowa.edu/~fuscmail.
Questions about a color digital printing order? We're here for you.
When will my job be finished? What will it cost? How do I make a pdf file?
We are used to questions in the Printing Department's digital imaging area, and we like
working directly with our customers. Any time you have questions about an order, email us
at: printing-dig@uiowa.edu. If you need to call, the numbers are 384-3724 and 384-3755.
Files galore and no place to store?
The University of Iowa Printing Department offers
archival scanning
services. Let us convert your paper records into accessible electronic files. Contact
Sandie Herwig, sandra-herwig@uiowa.edu
Copy Centers reach out to new students, parents at Orientation
In order to increase student awareness of the Copy Centers, customer
service representative Marge Kline participated in this year's Information Fairs during
summer Orientation for new students. Her exhibit focused on what's available at CopyHawk,
particularly self service, a customer work area, postage sales, and UPS shipping.
"I spoke with a mix of students and parents," she says. "A lot of
parents were looking for information while their students were in sessions." All new students
must attend Orientation, which is conducted by the Office of Admissions. They register for
fall semester, meet their academic advisors, and learn about academic requirements and
campus resources. Parents receive similar information in separate sessions. The nine,
half-day fairs take place at the Iowa Memorial Union.
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SURPLUS
Every day an adventure
It's been an active summer for Surplus. A warehouse-style scissor lift, antique
surveying equipment, old metal glass-front cabinets, dorm loft components, stainless steel
kitchen equipment, a hairdresser's chair, vehicles, microscopes, and crash carts were hot
items that sold quickly. University departments, small business owners, area schools,
nonprofit organizations, and individuals are among the clientele who shop at Surplus.
The Surplus website,
www.uiowa.edu/~fusmm/surplus.html,
is updated weekly, sometimes more often, with photos of current stock. The good stuff goes
quickly and there's always more coming in, so there are no guarantees on what you'll find when
you get there! The warehouse, at 1225 South Gilbert, is open to departments by appointment and
to the general public on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Beginning September 6,
2007, computer sales to the public will take place on Thursdays only, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Anderson, Hennager attend national Surplus conference at ISU
Gary Anderson and Joseph Hennager attended the University Surplus Property
Association's national conference in Ames, Iowa, in April. Topics included environmental issues,
safety, student labor, online marketing, data destruction methods and documentation, and identify
theft. The conference was a good mix of classes, break-out sessions, and networking. The forty-nine
participants represented twenty-nine colleges and universities in twenty states.
Gary Anderson
Character Counts: Meet Matt Neely
As the main computer guy at Surplus, Matt Neely manages the repair, cleaning,
reselling, and disposal of cast-off computers from all over campus. In doing so, he works right
along with his staff.
"I've fixed thousands of computers. Maybe tens of thousands. The computers we
get are often broken or have missing parts. We have to determine if they have value," he says.
"We check to see that departments have wiped them. As a last line of defense, we put them through
our wiping process. The most important thing I do here is make sure no data leaves campus. We -
my staff and I - developed a system to both wipe and track the hard drives. I try to pick a good
staff that will be up to the challenge. Sometimes we get pretty hectic around here, so I want
people who are technically capable and motivated. We're lucky to have them."
"I like working with students and with my coworkers. I like the atmosphere.
You're never bored here. Ever. There's always something interesting or exciting to do," he says.
In the 1990s Matt worked as a student employee in Physics and Astronomy.
He processed images of incoming satellite data and assisted in a "clean room" where satellite
instruments were constructed. Later, he worked at the department's Astronomical Observatory,
a facility south of Iowa City which housed a 24-inch diameter telescope. A 24-foot rotating
dome opened for viewing the sky, while a hydraulic lift moved the floor up and down around
the telescope. Matt lived there and looked after the building, grounds, and instruments;
performed data analysis; and conducted sky tours.
"I really enjoyed doing the sky tours for kids. It's a rush to see a kid look
at the moon for the first time with a big telescope. It's almost like you're standing right on
it," he says. "I loved living in the country, too. It was nice that I didn't have to haul a
giant telescope around!" Skywatchers who live in town, he explains, must disassemble and
carefully pack the telescope, haul it to a vehicle, load it, drive to a dark site, unload,
unpack, and reassemble it. When it's time to go home, they repeat the process. It takes
commitment.
The observatory was demolished last year, and the University donated the
telescope to the Cedar Amateur Astonomers club, to which Matt has belonged since age twelve.
"We're planning to build a structure for it at Palisades Dows Botanic Preserve in Linn County,"
he says. "The telescope will be back!"
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WE LIKE FEEDBACK!
Story ideas:
Are there topics we haven't covered that you would like to see in our
newsletter? Do you have questions you would like us to address? Send
an e-mail to jenean-arnold@uiowa.edu or a memo to Into Print,
126C MBSB.
Address corrections and additions:
If you wish to be added to the Into Print mailing list, fill out and send our
form
or e-mail the following information [University of Iowa campus addresses and
@uiowa.edu e-mail suffixes only] to jenean-arnold@uiowa.edu:
- Your name
- Department
- Campus Mail address
- whether you want the print version, e-mail notification
of Web posting, or both.
E-mail us:
Send questions and comments about departmental topics to:
Bionic Bus . . . bionic-bus@uiowa.edu
Cambus information . . . cambus-dispatching@uiowa.edu
Central Mail . . . central-mail@uiowa.edu
Commuter programs . . . commuter-programs@uiowa.edu
Digital color imaging . . . printing-dig@uiowa.edu.
General Stores . . . genstores@uiowa.edu
Motor Pool . . . motor-pool@uiowa.edu
Parking facilities operations . . . facilities-dispatch@uiowa.edu
Parking services . . . parking-office@uiowa.edu
Wide Media Center . . . widemedia-printing@uiowa.edu
Copy Centers:
Boyd Law . . . dcblb-printing@uiowa.edu
Hardin Library . . . dchlhs-printing@uiowa.edu
Iowa Memorial Union . . . dcimu-printing@uiowa.edu
Med Labs . . . dcml-printing@uiowa.edu
Mossman Building . . . dccbsb-printing@uiowa.edu
Pappajohn Bldg . . . dcpbb-printing@uiowa.edu
UPACS and Copyright Service . . . upacs-printing@uiowa.edu
We are . . .
Business Services: Central Mail, Equipment Rental,
General Stores, Laundry, Parking & Transportation, Printing, and
Surplus, serving The University of Iowa community. The print version
of Into Print is distributed free and on request to UI faculty,
staff, and students.
Contributors to this issue:
Gary Anderson/Business Services, Stores, Surplus;
Chris Kula/Central Mail, Copy Centers;
Michelle Ribble/Parking and Transportation.
Editor/web administrator: Jenean Arnold, phone 384-3723,
jenean-arnold@uiowa.edu, 126C MBSB.
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