Associated Students Inc. and the 49er Shops enter into a Shared Services Initiative.
Under the initiative, the two businesses would come together and share their administrative services.
Executive Director of ASI, Miles Nevin, said the initiative is meant to “better serve the campus long-term and to better serve the students.”
Both organizations are already among the largest employers of students on campus. By coming together, student representation and leadership will increase when it comes to making changes to the shops on campus.
They are currently working with a consultant conducting a food study and engaging, with primarily student representation to identify what the long-term food plan should be on campus by spring 2023.
“Eventually you will potentially see changes in what the services are, what restaurants exist on campus in five years, and what the bookstore looks like, those kinds of things,” Nevin said.
The integration of services began with both organizations operating under one management team directed by Nevin.
“I’m an alumnus, and to me, this is just an opportunity to serve the campus in a different way and make some real change, and we are really excited about it,” Nevin said.
The integration started almost two years ago with conversations among the administration, governing boards and internal staff. They consulted with student leadership and with the 49er Shops leadership, who all agreed that the shared services initiative was a good idea.
“Ever since the conversation started around, I think a year ago, there has been a lot of student engagement with this project and really trying to include students in the conversation,” ASI President Isaac Julian said.
Nevin said that in many cases it takes one to three years for the full integration to happen because of its complexity.
“I am excited for the partnership that’s happening because by working together, not only is it going to be great for students, but it’s also going to be allocating a lot of resources into one space,” Julian said.