Grand Opening for new on-campus Information and Technology Store
(Update: see photographs from Grand Opening, below)
JONESBORO, AR – Students, faculty and staff at Arkansas State may now make their technology purchases and have questions answered right in the middle campus as the IT (Information and Technology) Store holds its grand opening, Wednesday, Oct. 31, at 8 a.m. The event is open to the public.
The grand opening will feature sales that are available only on Oct. 31, including select Macbooks, iPads, phone cases, headphones, and more. Those wearing an ASU IT Store t-shirt will receive 10 percent off any item not already marked down. Also, those wearing a costume will have their photo taken and placed on Facebook and the recipient of the most “likes” on Facebook will win a pair of Dr. Dre Beats Studio headphones, retail valued at $299. There will also be a drawing for a 13-inch Macbook Air laptop and the first 100 people who come into the store will be able to draw for technology prizes.
The new store is located on the ground floor of Wilson Hall, 2405 Aggie Way. Entrance to the store is on the South side of Wilson Hall facing the arch.
“It’s great service, not only to the campus community, but the general public can benefit from it as well,” said Darla Fletcher, director of Technical Services and Support at ASU. “Many institutions have technology stores and this was lacking on our campus. We want our students, faculty, and staff at ASU to have the technology they need readily available and for them to be able to get their technology questions answered in one centralized location.”
Fletcher said even though it is a store, it is also a location for technical assistance. People can receive help onsite with technology questions about software and hardware.
“It has been somewhat difficult to get questions answered in person since the IT department is physically located on the other side of campus,” continued Fletcher. “This store will place IT in the middle of campus and, therefore, be able to accommodate the technical needs of the campus much better.”
The store is an Apple Authorized Campus Store and contains iPads, Macbooks, iMacs, Lenovo tablets and accessories, including cases for tablets, cell phones, headphones, media storage and more. The store employs 11 students, and profits from the store are used to provide hands-on jobs for ASU students in technology such as web programming, telecommunications as well as marketing and retail.
“The assistance by students has helped service levels improve for IT and has helped the IT department relate more to students and their technology needs,” said Fletcher. “Students are able to learn about technology and put their classroom-learned skills to use now while they are still students. It will also help students build resumes and skills sets.”
“We invite all of the campus community to come in and try the technology on our hands-on tables. We have tablets, notebooks and more on display inside the store. Many of the items that had to be ordered and then wait for delivery are now here on campus and in stock. This allows departments to immediately acquire the technology they need and not have to wait for delivery."
Potential buyers may purchase batteries, cables, computers and accessories, warranties, external storage, hardware and peripherals, headphones, mobile accessories, and video games. Fletcher said that the store includes a community space room available for scheduling meetings or training sessions and she also pointed out that the store will provide faculty, staff and students access to the best technology on campus to help empower teaching and learning.
