CAMPUS CLOSEUPJim Richey - Administrative assistant, aka the campus mail guy
Jim Richey delivers campus mail to numerous departments, schools and buildings on the Lawrence campus.
Job duties: I'm involved in the packaging, delivery and collection of interdepartmental mail on the Lawrence campus. I drive morning and afternoon mail routes. I process return mail from the United States Postal Service, specifically business reply for any department that uses the general KU Permit available through central accounting and postage due items that entail postage shortfalls, address corrections, and forwarding information. I'm involved in hiring staff, developing databases for tracking KU Permit account expenditures and am learning to update the Campus Mail Web site pages.
What parts of campus do you serve on your route? We make approximately 85-90 mail stop deliveries a day. Our routes stretch from Jayhawk Boulevard to West Campus.
What is the most unusual item you have seen attempted to be sent via campus mail? I think one time many years ago, someone sent a box of crickets through the mail. Not too long ago, someone packed an item in dry ice and put it in a standard letter envelope. One of our carriers sustained a slight burn on his hand when he grabbed it.
What do you like most about your profession? I like the combination of desk work and physical labor. It's nice to get out and see campus, and I enjoy the people I interact with every day.
What aspects of your job might others not realize you're involved with? Our department is responsible for the general campuswide processing of business reply and postage due mail from the post office.
I think a lot of people are aware of this service but don't realize that Campus Mail is the root of the processing and billing.
What is the biggest misconception, in your opinion, about campus mail? I think the biggest misconception is the size of our staff and our available resources. We have two full-time staff, two students and very limited office space, and are unable to provide detailed processing and delivery of the mail. More often than not, we have to group departments into one bundle and deliver to one general point within buildings. We simply aren't able to accommodate requests to subdivide the mail and give everyone their own mailbox and bundle.
Are certain times of year busier than others, or is the tempo constant? Summer and winter break are less busy than the spring and fall semesters. Our busiest time seems to be from August through October. That's when we receive the most bulk mail, ranging from departmental announcements to open enrollment for employee insurance.
How would you compare campus mail to U.S. Mail? Campus Mail doesn't have any automated services, which makes bulk mailing a problem sometimes, given our limited staff. I think we have a much simpler requirement for addressing mail. We only require the department name; in rare instances, the building name if a mixture of departments is grouped in one location.
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