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Auxiliary Services: ‘Invisible’ Division Manages UB’s Major Growth
It’s one of those things you wouldn’t think about, and yet it’s important: Which way will the bookshelves be placed in the bookstore in the new Student Center? Will they face the front of the store? Or will they sit perpendicular to the entrance? (see sidebar) The architect prefers the shelves one way, while those who will sell books there like it another. It’s a minor detail, but one that can have a significant impact on sales. And it’s exactly the kind of thing that Auxiliary Services manages every day–that, along with a thousand and one other “invisible” things that create UB’s welcoming climate for learning and working.
“I like to tell people, if you don’t know who’s responsible for something at UB, it’s probably us,” said Barbara Aughenbaugh, associate vice president for Auxiliary Services and the primary point person for operations in the Student Center and UB’s real estate holdings. “We interact with everyone here every day, but they just don’t know it.”
Auxiliary Services came into its own about 10 years ago, when UB began to consolidate several different tasks under a single umbrella. The watchword, as Aughenbaugh sees it, was customer service.
“We became more comprehensive, more about making sure that people have a good experience here, whether it’s for classes, a meeting or just stopping by the bookstore,” Aughenbaugh said. “Our demographics are all over the place, so satisfying everyone is a big job.”
Indeed, at any given time of the day, evening or weekend, people ranging in age from elementary school all the way up into their 70s and 80s can be found on campus, involved in everything from a classroom visit to an author’s reception to an all-day conference. Working closely with Administrative Services and the Department of Public Safety, Auxiliary Services’ job is to make sure that each visit is a pleasant one – a loose way of saying that the university’s facilities and operations must be better than in working order.
“Someone who comes here for a meeting has three or four opportunities for success or failure,” Aughenbaugh explained. “From the time they park in our garage, to when they get their coffee and bagel, to when they sit down in a comfortable chair for their meeting or event, we have just a few chances to show them what UB is all about. Everyone in Auxiliary Services keeps that in mind.”
At the same time it is operating in its quiet way, the department is consistently trying to generate revenue for the campus–dollars that are returned to UB’s general fund for use in any number of ways, including the payment of debts that were acquired in order to build parking lots and garages as well as the dining center in the School of Law.
Auxiliary Services oversees campus transportation, facilities management, the bookstore, food service, vending services, the publishing of printed materials for use on campus, conference services–even the University’s copy machines and pay phones. It also handles parking for major special events such as Artscape and shows at the Lyric Opera House, and manages the driving range at UB’s Mt. Washington athletic fields. Only a few weeks ago, this office assumed the responsibility of delivering the mail around campus.
So how does a division that operates so much do its job discreetly, while also making money and constantly working to improve itself?
Coordination is the key concept, according to Aughenbaugh. With the advent of Internet-based technologies, cell phones and two-way radios, it has become significantly easier to make sure that facilities and the services that take place within are running in sync–the room is available for a meeting, the coffee and donuts arrive on time and the door is unlocked before the meeting begins. If you happen to be moving your entire office into that room, either temporarily or permanently, that’s an Auxiliary Service job, too.
“You learn to multi-task,” Aughenbaugh said, grinning.
The office’s leadership, which includes Jean DeVito, (sales and marketing manager), Terry Stumpf (associate director of conference services), and Rob Streib (associate director of Auxiliary Services), recently grew by one–Joan Weber has been hired to oversee events in the new Student Center theater. This crew oversees another dozen employees, who in turn have contacts all across campus, among faculty, staff and student groups. Together, they “turn over” about 2,000 events a year, often four or five in a day.
“We work a lot with our constituencies,” Aughenbaugh said. “We know we’ll never be able to make everyone happy, but we try.”
With UB in heavy-duty growth mode–expecting to add as many as 1,000 more students in the next few years and anticipating the arrival of significant private development on University-owned properties ringing its academic core–Auxiliary Services is being counted on more and more as perhaps the key player in making things work properly. Of course, issues like parking and the quality of food never really go away on a university campus, but Aughenbaugh said her group is mindful of rising expectations and is working hard to satisfy them.
As she sees it, Aughenbaugh believes that one of the best opportunities available to UB is the new bookstore, which will open in the Student Center around the first of the year. Every detail of the facility–including the positioning of those bookshelves–is on her department’s radar. The group is working closely with the bookstore management, the Follett Higher Education Group, to create an environment that is primarily about students but also quite inviting to the surrounding community.
“We have a real shot at creating a real community bookstore, one that serves UB but also attracts customers from Bolton Hill, midtown and beyond,” she said. “The biggest challenge will be to make sure that the store meets the needs of a variety of audiences.”
Similarly, a planned coffee shop and convenience store in the new building are receiving a lot of attention from the Auxiliary Services staff.
“We’ll miss the mark if we don’t market all of this, because it’s going to be great,” Aughenbaugh said.
Only 10 years ago, UB had a handful of soda machines and a few public spaces for meetings and events. Today, it’s a multi-tiered, self-supporting operation with a comprehensive array of services.
“You realize that it’s about making sure that people feel good about coming here–especially students,” Aughenbaugh said. “It’s an educational enterprise, and we’re here to make sure everybody is served.”
Veteran Bookstore Manager Eager for Move into New Location
 Joanne Jones, manager of the UB Bookstore
Joanne Jones, manager of UB’s bookstore and a longtime veteran of the college bookstore business, said she is excited about the store’s upcoming move across Mt. Royal Ave. to its new location in the Student Center.
“I’ve been waiting for it to happen for many, many years–it’s been a long time coming,” said Jones, who has managed this key facility since the early 1980s. “Every day I look at the new Student Center from our loading dock–it’s really exciting. I believe it’s a great location, the right location for us.”
Jones started at UB in 1978 as a part-time cashier in the store, eventually working in every department within. She also logged time in bookstores at Bowie State University and Coppin State College (now Coppin State University).
Jones said the biggest change she has seen in her business in more than two decades is the shopping techniques of students: “Students are very savvy–they really go out and try to find the best price for their money. If we can give them good customer service, they will be back.”
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