Barnes & Noble College Booksellers has been chosen to operate the UNC Student Stores, the university announced Thursday.

All operations will transition on July 1, as part of a 10-year, $30 million agreement, according to a release. The print shop and pharmacy are exempted from this transition and the university will continue to operate.

The privatization of UNC Student Stores has been the subject of protests in recent months. Eight proposals were submitted to UNC responding to a request for proposals from the university. Private bookstore operator Follett first approached UNC about privatizing student stores last fall.

The initial attraction to a shift in operation, according to UNC officials, was the potential to increase the amount of money going to need-based scholarships by increasing the net proceeds of the Student Stores’ operation. Officials say that Student Stores contributed an estimated $425,000 to scholarships last year. Under the new agreement, Barnes & Noble has guaranteed a $3 million minimum payment for the first two years of the contract. The release says the university expects to bring in between $1.75 and $2 million annually throughout the duration of the contract.

The release states all 48 full-time staff members will maintain employment at their current salary “either under Barnes & Noble College management or by remaining with UNC-Chapel Hill.”

Brad Ives, associate vice chancellor for campus enterprises said in the release:

“Guaranteeing continued employment for existing staff, preserving the beloved qualities of Student Stores and significantly increasing the funds toward need-based scholarships are key elements of this partnership with Barnes & Noble College. We thank everyone at Student Stores for their service and commitment to the campus community and for their patience during our diligence process.”

The employees who transition to Barnes & Noble will be guaranteed employment for three years, according to the university. And staff members who are within 18 months of their five-year state service mark or three years of their 30-year state service mark will remain on the UNC-Chapel Hill payroll until passing those benchmarks.

The agreement includes $3.8 million to “update and expand existing retail space” and $200,000 for technology, a $1 million signing bonus – which the release says will go to need-based student scholarships – and $25,000 for annual textbook scholarships.

The university says the store will maintain the UNC Student Stores name with no Barnes & Noble branding, will hire a similar number of student employees at salaries comparable to their current pay and will offer a 10 percent discount on new and use textbooks for UNC-Chapel Hill students along with a price-match guarantee against national vendors.

An official with UNC Student Stores declined to comment on the transition.

UNC released a video of the conceptual redesign of UNC Student Stores:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqJCkUAPWBs&feature=youtu.be

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