Administration and Finance Focus
 
 

                                                                                                               

TACUP/SWACUMS JOINT CONFERENCE A HIT WITH PARTICIPANTS

Attendees praised the efforts of UH and Rice University Printing and Postal groups for the joint Texas Association of College and University Printers and Southwest Association of College and University Mail Services (TACUP/SWACUMS) conference at the UH Hilton from Oct. 24 to 26. Participants left the conference armed with knowledge and tools to keep their business running successfully.

The theme of the conference was �Will you Win, Place or Show in your In-Plant�s Race for Success?� focusing on remaining viable in the industry during tough economic times. Participants were able to discuss the problems as well as solutions they faced throughout the previous year.

Interim director for Stephen F. Austin University Printing Services, Rebecca Galatas, praised the experience she had at the conference with the other attendants.

�For a new interim director such as myself I needed a print/mail conference such as this one to inform me on current and future practices in the industry. I also appreciated all the directors that spent some time with me going over stories about their print shops. The information that I learned from the conference will really help me and my staff take our print shop in the direction that it needs to go to further our university�s purpose,� Galatas said.

During the conference, the participants heard from speakers representing the print, copy and mail industries to discuss new issues and strategies in their field. One of the highlights of the conference was a presentation, �Redefine Printing: Secrets to Success,� from UH�s very own Dr. Jerry Waite.

�I thought Dr. Waite�s presentation was very relevant,� said Sally Rowland-Ketley, UH Director of Printing and Postal Services. �He hit all of the significant points that relate to the industry and economy today.�

Rowland-Ketley said many participants commended the presentation by Ricoh representative, Greg Cholmondeley on �The True Value of Your Printshop� who discussed proving your financial worth to the university in order to remain viable.

The conference moved to the Spaghetti Warehouse on Tuesday night for a Celebrity Mystery Theatre where selected conference participants became actors alongside impersonators of Sherlock Holmes, Columbo, Julia Childs and Elvis Presley. The audience was encouraged to participate in solving the murder of one of their participant�s characters.

�That was so much fun. They just couldn�t stop laughing,� Rowland-Ketley said. �That was one of the best things we�ve done in a long time.�

Print, copy and mail industry professionals representing 27 schools from Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma as well as two area school districts agreed that combining the TACUP/SWACUMS conferences was a win-win situation. On the last day of the conference, representatives had a joint meeting to see how everyone felt and agreed to once again join their efforts for the conference in 2011 hosted by Texas Christian University. The joint conference provided a larger attendance for vendors and speakers as well as more opportunities for networking with peers within the industry.

�If you come away with at least one idea that you can implement in your shop, you have come out a winner,� Rowland-Ketley said.

For more information on UH Printing and Postal, visit https://www.uh.edu/postal/.