Committee solicits comments on future of campus bookstore

Committee
solicits comments on future of campus bookstore
…………………………………………………………………

A committee considering the future of the campus bookstore
is seeking comments from the Rice community through an online
survey, which can be accessed at <http://psych.rice.edu/bookstore/survey.lasso>.

The Ad Hoc Committee
on the Rice Campus Store, appointed by President Malcolm
Gillis and chaired by James Pomerantz, professor of psychology,
met throughout the fall semester.

“We have
looked closely at the challenges and opportunities facing
the university with regard both to textbooks and the other
items sold at the store, and we have examined what options
other universities have explored,” Pomerantz said.

The committee
has narrowed the range of possible recommendations for the
store to two prototypical scenarios, he said. They include
retaining the existing store, but with improvements, or
engaging an outside vendor to take over the store.

Both scenarios
are summarized on the Web site, followed by the survey,
which includes a section for all members of the Rice community
and a second section for current students only.

Pomerantz encourages
members of the campus community to complete the survey so
the committee can obtain a rough barometer of the community’s
preferences regarding the bookstore.