The leaders of the Employee Forum, the English department and the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid are three of the 12 new members of UNC's Student Stores RFP Advisory Committee.
The committee will evaluate eight proposals for the future of Student Stores. The current management of the store and seven outside companies responded to an RFP — a request for proposals — issued in January.
UNC is using an external consultant, Campus Bookstore Consulting, to moderate the advisory committee and help evaluate the proposals. Finalists will make presentations to the committee at the end of March, UNC spokesperson Jim Gregory said. That's a delay from the original announced date of March 14-15.
One of the seven companies, Follett, sparked a campus controversy in the fall after making an unsolicited proposal to privatize the store. Follett and one other company want to take over full operations of the store. The other five external proposals are from companies offering kiosks for virtual course materials.
The committee will forward its recommendations to administrators for a final decision. Committee member and Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus Enterprises Brad Ives said in February that he expects a decision sometime in April.
The advisory committee will eventually include 13 people, with one appointment from the Provost's office still pending. Two students, Student Body President Houston Summers and his Chief of Staff Harry Edwards, were named to the committee.
university@dailytarheel.com
