Alcalá View 1995 12.3

Department of the Month Bookstore Computer Department

New Hires, Promotions (Continued from page one) McClain, history; Rosalie Pacula, School of Business Administration ; Michael Ramsey, law school ; Sandra Rierson, law school; Lonnie Rowell, School of Education; Mary Williams, School of Education ; Marcela Alvarez, paralegal program; Vicki Esparza, main dining; Carol Hunt, bookstore ; Mary Kruer, campus ministry; Jacalyn Lawyer, undergraduate admis- sions; Elsa Meza, human resources; Diane Rich, Office of Mission and Ministry; Rosie Rodriguez, School of Edu- cation; Angelica Salazar, undergraduate admissions; Vipashi Trivedi-Sheth, chem- istry; Betty Zee, graduate pro- grams; Margaret Athan, spon- sored programs; Anthony Kmetty, graduate admissions; Sheila Lawton, patient advoca- cy; Melissa Morrow, paralegal program; Rhonda Norton, para- legal program; Barbara Buckovetz, child development center; Cecy Longaker, child development center; Cathleen Mullins, media center; R.L. Rambus, custodial services; Jaime Rivera , mail center; Kimberly Yohe , bakery; and Daniel Zasueta, media center. Congratulations to the fol- lowing employees who recently received promotions: Teresa Ampig, executive assistant in financial account- ing; Debbie Finocchio, labora- tory technician in chemistry; Cipriano Marquez, custodian in housekeeping services; Silvia Patterson, administrative assistant in financial account- ing; Eric Wildman , administra- tive assistant in financial accounting; Robert Cornish, graduate admissions officer; and Rochelle Shivers, execu- tive assistant in graduate admissions.

T he staff of the bookstore computer department includes (from left to right) : Aaron Williams, Travis Smith , Glen Jones , Terry Banich and Sandy Garcia .

1. Where is your department located? The computer department is located in the north end of the bookstore, nex t to the textbook department. 2. What are the functions of your depart- ment? We se ll computers, periphera ls, software and accessories as well as calculators to stu- dents, fac ulty and staff. Macintosh comput- ers and most of the software we carry are academically priced, with savings of 5 to 10 percent on Macintosh hardware and 50 per- cent on software (Macintosh and IBM). We also are a full-service repair shop for Macintosh hardware, on both warranty and out-of-warranty products. Unfortuna tely, with the intense competition in the IBM- compatible world of PCs, there is no ac- ademic pricing on IBM compatible hardware. 3 . What is the biggest challenge your department faces? The biggest challenge is keeping up with the pace of technolog ical change and con- vey ing that to our customers. Five years ago, you could buy the top of the line Mac or PC and figure on at least one-and-a-half to two years before there was a maj or upgrade in power or a major decrease in price fo r the same power. Now it is more like a n ine- to 12-month cycle. What people need to realize is that a computer is not an investment, it is a tool.

Buy the tool that fits the job you need to do now with enough ex tra power for perhaps a three year period, allowing for the expan- sion of your computing needs or interests during that period. If and when your needs expand to the point that you need more power, se ll what you have on the used mar- ket and buy the current technology. 4. How has your department changed dur- ing the past 10 years? The biggest change came in 1992 with the remodel ing and major expansion of the bookstore. Prior to that, the bookstore uti- lized academic computing's expert ise fo r much of the pre-purchase counseling, i.e. , "I want to buy a computer. Which one should I buy?" The bookstore handled the ordering, warehousing and delivery of computer sys- tems. You can ask Marcia Butler and Leroy Weber about the challenges of a back-to- schoo l sa le when their offices were the major storerooms. 5. What is the one thing you would like the campus community to know about your department and its functions? We are here to serve the un iversity and make it a better place fo r all of us. We want to help you be sure you get the computer and software that you need, that you don't pay too much for power you don 't need or, worse, end up with a system that is inade- quate for the job you need to do.