FedEx partner to open campus design center in the UK

UK Auxiliary Services announced the grand opening of the Design, Print and Mail Center in the White Hall Classroom Building yesterday at a ribbon cutting ceremony.

FedEx partnered with UK Auxiliary Services to open the new center.

“FedEx really did a great job working diligently to open this store in just two weeks time,” said Ben Crutcher, associate vice president of UK Auxiliary Services. “They’ve helped provide UK with a partnership which will drastically improve service to departments and eventually to students.”

Crutcher said this is only the beginning for the Design, Print and Mail Center. The next project is to open a retail store on campus where there is more visibility aside from the Classroom Building basement.

“We hope by August, when students return for classes, to have an attractive store front, which will be more accessible and visible to the public,” Crutcher said.

UK Creative Graphics and Design, headed by Jon McGee, moved to be with UK’s Bulk Mail Services and FedEx Kinko’s.

Also on board in the design department is the nationally recognized artist, Kenn Minter, who will now be in charge of house marketing.

Minter said he would be organizing and overseeing designs that have to do with student housing.

“I look forward to creating and potentially meeting new clients through this partnership for the best of the university,” Minter said.

Combining these three services creates a single site for design, printing and mailing services.

“You can walk in with little more than an idea,” said Sarah Nikirk, interim director of Auxiliary Services. “The Web Design Center will design a brochure, for example, which can then be handed over to FedEx Kinko’s for any copying. Lastly, UK’s Bulk Mail Services can make sure each brochure is sent out. It makes everything easy for the customer, which is the main point altogether.”

The partnership will also benefit faculty and staff while they are away from campus, such as while on sabbatical or traveling to a conference, by allowing them to use Lexington prices at other FedEx Kinko’s and charging the services to the university.

UK is now partnered as one of 1,700 FedEx Kinko’s in the nation. Steve Dillingham, managing director of operations for FedEx Kinko’s, said the available services will continue to expand.

“Twenty-four-hour turnaround, free pick-up and online ordering are just the beginning of services FedEx promises to the university,” he said.

President Lee Todd said he is confident this partnership will help with UK’s top-20 reputation.

“To be a top-20 university, we must do things around campus to compete against other rapidly improving universities,” he said. “This collaboration of concepts, visuals and print media is an outstanding combination which allows us to remain competitive. We want to bring things to this campus that makes it easier to do our jobs.”