Family Friendly - All Tigers Welcome!
02-09-2011
The Missouri Student Unions proudly announce new family-friendly features that make our facilities a place to call home for ALL Tigers! High chairs and booster seats are available for our littlest Tigers in the MU Student Center and Memorial Student Union dining facilities, plus parents and caregivers will find changing stations in all unions restrooms. The MU Student Center is home to a Lactation Room in the Women’s Center, located on the lower level. A gender neutral restroom can be found on the lower level, down the hall from the RSVP Center. Don’t forget, University Bookstore offers a special children’s reading area with books and space designed just for kids! We invite you to take advantage of our family-friendly amenities everywhere you see this symbol (below) because our commitment to the Mizzou family includes everyone.
University of Missouri to Bring WeCar® to Campus
05-15-2010
Sustainable car sharing program will start this fall
Columbia, Mo.--Did you know that a shared vehicle can remove 15 – 20 cars off the road? This fall Mizzou students, faculty and staff can use a car sharing program thanks to a new partnership between the Missouri Students Association and the Graduate Professional Council (MSA/GPC), the Missouri Student Unions, MU Parking and Transportation and the MU Sustainability Office. The WeCar® sharing program offers an economical, convenient and environmentally friendly transportation alternative to owning a car.
WeCar® offers students, faculty and staff freedom and mobility without the hassles of owning a car. Two hybrid vehicles and two sedans will be available and conveniently located on the MU campus. Membership is $35 annually and reservations can be made online. Hourly weekday rates for sedans are $8 per hour and hybrids start at $9 per hour. Customers who are 18 -20 years of age are eligible to use this service but must have their own insurance.
“Bringing WeCar® to Mizzou will provide an important service to our students, especially those who are on-campus residents, and will allow them the freedom to go grocery shopping, run errands, etc.” said Dr. Jeff Zeilenga, Asst. Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. “This program also supports MU’s sustainability initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint, as well as relieve congestion and parking demand on campus.” For more information about Mizzou WeCar, visit: unions.missouri.edu/wecar.
Main Level of MU Student Center Project to Open Ahead of Schedule
03-05-2010
Despite a lengthy and bitter winter construction season, the main level of
Phase 2 of the University of Missouri Student Center is set to open ahead of schedule. A portion of Phase
2, which includes new dining options, lounge and study space for students, will open on Aug. 18, 2010.
“Our priority throughout this project has been to serve our students,” said Jeff Zeilenga, assistant
vice chancellor for Student Affairs. “Working with our contractor, VCC, we are seizing an opportunity to
open a large area of the student center much earlier than we anticipated. Benefits of opening this early
include convenience for our students, more food choices and 600 additional seats to meet the demand of
our student population.”
Originally, this portion of the student center project was not slated for completion until Spring
2011. This timeline caused some challenges including reduced dining capacity for students. Yet, due to
the efforts of the contractor and MU’s Campus Facilities Design & Construction team, work on Phase 2 is
ahead of schedule.
“When we realized that construction was continuing ahead of schedule, we began discussions
with the contractor to see if we could open the largest public portion of the facility for students when they
returned for the fall 2010 semester,” Zeilenga said. “This will require some overtime by the contractor,
but the project has a contingency for this and we think it is well worth it for our students and our auxiliary
operations.”
Upon completion of the main level of Phase 2, students can look forward new and improved
services including additional dining options as well as lounge and study space. This new area is meant to
serve as the hub of student activity on campus.
The remaining areas should be completed by December 2010. Amenities in this area will include
“The Shack” games and programming area, Mort’s Grille, a convenience store, student study and meeting
rooms, and the Mizzou Traditions Lounge. This schedule is still contingent on variables such as weather.
“It’s incredible that we can open this key student facility ahead of schedule,” said Cathy Scroggs,
vice chancellor for Student Affairs. “This demonstrates the importance that we place on our students, and
I can’t wait for them to start using the new services we will provide.”
University Bookstore ranks in profits, used books
02-23-2010
UCLA finished first in profits in the nationwide survey.
University Bookstore ranked second in overall profit and first in percentage of used books sold to students in a nationwide survey conducted by Large Stores Group earlier this month.The survey used sales statistics from fiscal year 2008, the last year University Bookstore was located in Brady Commons before making the switch to the student center. According to the Large Stores Group Web site, 86 four-year universities with at least $9 million in annual revenue were included in the rankings.
University Bookstore finished second only to the University of California-Los Angeles in total profits.
"It's interesting that a Midwest bookstore can be so competitive when you're going up against schools like UCLA," Student Auxiliary Services spokeswoman Michelle Froese said. "It speaks highly of our own bookstore to see that we can."
Froese said sales of particular merchandise especially contributed to the bookstore's profits.
"Our most profitable items are clothing and gift items," Frose said. "They're not too labor intensive, whereas computers and electronic devices usually require a lot of staff."
Frose said the main factor for the bookstore's high profits is finding the right gross margin.
"If it's too high, you're not going to sell anything," Froese said. "If it's too low, you're not making any money. I think we're successful because we find the right balance."
Bookstores for the University of Texas, Arizona State University, Brigham Young University and the University of Minnesota rounded out the top five in the percentage of used books sold. Froese said MU's bookstore had finished high in the survey's rankings in past years but never first.
"We've been in the top 10 for a few years, and we were in second for a couple years, but this is the first time we've been named No. 1," Froese said.
Froese cited statistics from 2009 as proof of University Bookstore's more than average used book sales.
"Of all of the course books we sell in fiscal year, the percentage of used to new books is higher than any other store in LSG survey," Froese said. "In fiscal year 2009, our used book percentage was 40.5 percent. The LSG national average is 28.3 percent."
Froese said making more used books available to students is a priority for the bookstore.
"We have no control over prices of new textbooks — there's nothing we can do about them," Froese said. "But we can offer used books at a cheaper price."
The Missouri Students Association passed legislation in December promoting the purchasing of used books.
"The resolution just showed that we had looked into it and that there were obvious advantages of buying used books for students," said Macy Pruitt, MSA Academic Affairs committee vice chairman. "They're just generally cheaper — almost always cheaper — and that's something that I think students should care about and should take advantage of."
