New Eatery To Open in East Campus Union

Beginning May 12, student mailbox use will get simplified.

The mailbox area in the East Campus Union will permanently close, and mailboxes will be consolidated into one area on West Campus, as Duke Dining plans construction on a new cafe and expanded kitchen within current mailbox space in the East Campus Union building.

"The construction will allow Campus Mail Services to consolidate all mailboxes to the lower level of the Bryan Center, providing all students who live on campus the opportunity to have the same mailbox and box number throughout their entire campus residency," said Michael Trogdon, director of Campus Mail Services.

Additionally, Campus Mail Services will install secure parcel lockers in the Bryan Center mailbox area that will allow student box holders to access packages 24 hours a day with a special key that's placed in their mailbox. The self-service kiosk for postage sales and outgoing mail will remain in the East Campus Union building.

In place of the current East Campus Union mailroom, Duke Dining plans to create a destination hangout space for students. Using 800 to 1,000-square feet, a new cafe and lounge area aims to offer a casual space for students to relax and also engage with faculty, said Rick Johnson, assistant vice president of Student Affairs for Housing, Dining and Residence Life. Dining options will include a coffee and bakery menu.

"We don't have an area on East Campus focused on faculty-student interaction outside the classroom and this will be great for that," Johnson said. "It'll also give us more space for opportunities to involve possible entertainment in the evenings, which is something we've talked about for years."

Both the mailbox move and new dining space are planned to be complete by the start of the next academic year in August. Over the next few weeks, here's how Duke community members will need to finalize any changes to their mailboxes.

On-Campus Residents

Students, resident assistants, residence coordinators and faculty-in-residence who currently have a mailbox in the East Campus Union will be assigned via email a new mailbox in the Bryan Center by May 1.

Once a new box number is received, residents should visit the Bryan Center mailbox location in the building's lower level before May 12 to return their old key and pick up a new one. Residence coordinators and faculty-in-residence are asked to bring a check for $52 made payable to Duke University for box rental. All mail will be forwarded from old boxes to new boxes for 90 days. After that, mail will be returned to sender.

Off-Campus Residents

Beginning May 12, mailbox rental in the Bryan Center will only be available for students living in Duke residence halls or on Central Campus. The U.S. Postal Service will serve students who live off-campus directly at their residence.

Off-campus students are asked to visit the Bryan Center mailbox location before May 12 to turn in their key and provide a mail forwarding address. If Campus Mail Services doesn’t receive an address, first class mail and parcels will be sent to the ACES permanent home address for 90 days. After that, mail will be returned to sender.

For more information or to ask questions about upcoming mailbox changes, Duke community members can email dukepostoffice@duke.edu.