April 29 expo will explain UO furniture purchasing

University of Oregon Campus Operations is presenting a "UO Furniture Purchasing Expo" on Monday, April 29, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the EMU Fir Room. All faculty and staff are invited to attend, and refreshments will be provided.

The event is intended to explain how to purchase furniture to be used at the UO, what contracts are available, what rules must be followed and who should be contacted to make transactions easy. Campus Operations staff will give presentations with slides at 9:15 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 2:15 p.m. Purchasing information will be discussed, links and names of staff will be provided, and the process of purchasing furniture will be explained.

The expo will also launch some new online tools that will be available to campus customers. Manufacturers such as Steelcase, Herman Miller and KI have been working on specific websites called University of Oregon Furniture Portals, designed specifically for the UO campus, to be used in the process of furniture purchasing. Representatives from the manufacturers will be present with laptops and other visual aids to work with participants one-on-one in presenting the portals.

Other contract suppliers of furniture – including Knoll, Oregon Correctional Industries, Virco, RFM Seating and Haworth – will also be present at the event to talk with participants about their products.

Staff from UO Purchasing & Contract Services. Campus Operations Central Services, Capital Construction and Campus Operations Purchasing will be present to answer questions and provide resources.

No registration is necessary, attendees will be signed in at the door.

- from UO Campus Operations