The Des Places location of the DU Mail Center can be accessed directly off of Stevenson Street. Students must pick up packages at this new location.
The Des Places location of the DU Mail Center can be accessed directly off of Stevenson Street. Students must pick up packages at this new location.
Gabriella DiPietro | News Editor
08/30/18
The start of the school year means back-to-school shopping, and for many college students, that shopping is done online.
This year’s Duquesne University students should be aware that the Department of Mailing Services has recently moved, resulting in a different pickup location for students’ packages.
Mailing Services is the central mail facility for the university, where all internal mail and incoming USPS mail is processed for distribution across campus.
Formerly found in the basement of Rockwell Hall, the Department of Mailing Services is now located in Room 106 of the ground floor of Des Places Living Learning Center. The new location can be accessed through a recently modified entrance off of Stevenson Street.
The new entrance to mailing services also includes a loading dock that is directly accessible to the Mail Center for all mail and parcel delivery. This is a large improvement from the old Rockwell Hall location, according to Bill Zilcosky, senior director of facility services and operations, where an elevator was needed for deliveries and handling all incoming and outgoing mail and parcels.
Previously, mailing services distributed student letters and packages to the Student Mail Center (SMC) in the Towers Living Learning Center for pickup. However, that has slightly changed due to the new Des Places location.
The Towers SMC will still be open, but with limited hours. There, students will be able to pick up mail from their assigned SMC mailbox, and support staff will be available at the window to answer questions or offer help with the mailboxes. All package distribution will now take place in the Des Places Mailing Services location.
Zilcosky believes that the relocation will help the university to better serve its students by enabling them to run a more efficient mail and package operation.
“Because packages are collected and distributed in the same area, it cuts down on how many times we must handle a package. We can scan them into our system more quickly and notify students that their item is ready for pickup,” said Zilcosky. “Having these mailing operations done in the same area also permits us to offer extended window service hours for students in an easy-to-access location.”
During the semester, the new Des Places location will be open Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. The Towers SMC’s hours will be 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday through Friday.
Students will still be able to mail letters and packages, pay for postage, buy stamps and pick up packages, though now these will take place at the Des Places location. Students are also able to drop smaller letters in any of the mailboxes on campus to be mailed.
If needed, students are able to utilize the mailing center’s limited supply of envelopes that are available for purchase, as well as a limited supply of USPS priority packaging that is free and available. Transactions must be cash or check. Outgoing UPS packages will only be accepted with a prepaid label attached.
