By Jody Record, Media Relations

Increasing the services managed by the Office of Business Affairs is aimed at providing greater efficiency and leveraging resources, says David May, the office’s new executive director.

Previously, May oversaw operations in dining, conference and catering, and at the New England Center. Now, printing and mail, vending, and the UNH Bookstore have been added to his list of responsibilities. All, he says, are focused on serving the campus community and its students.

“The departments I’ve picked up were doing a good job already. This gives us the opportunity to leverage our resources and help each office be even more successful,” May says.

He describes the workers in the various departments as a “really dedicated group of people” who are ready to help the campus function as smoothly as possible.

“There’s a lot of synergy in what we all do. By us being combined, I think services will improve,” May says. “There’s a really strong commitment to customer service; a really strong commitment to sustainability and really good communication.”

The change gives May the chance to learn about other businesses and apply the successes he has had with the dining programs and at the New England Center. Already he’s been working with Barnes and Noble, the managers of the UNH Bookstore, who just signed another five-year contract to operate the MUB store.

That deal can earn big bucks for the library, May says, simply by getting faculty members to hand over their booklists. If Barnes and Noble obtains 75 percent of the lists, the bookseller will write a $100,000 check to the Dimond Library. In the second through fifth year, the checks would be for $50,000, if the lists hit the mark.

“Obviously, this is worth a substantial amount of money,” May says. “It doesn’t mean students have to buy their books at Barnes and Noble. They just want the lists.”

So far, B&N has received 66 percent of the lists, up from last year’s 59 percent.