Bookstore forum is March 5 An open forum to discuss the UND Bookstore will be held at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, March 5, in the Memorial Union South Ballroom. The current contract with Barnes & Noble for the management of the Bookstore ends March 31. This will complete a 10-year agreement. In accordance with State Board of Higher Education policies, a service contract may not exceed a term of 10 years, which required UND to send out a request for proposal (RFP) to potential vendors for a new contract. A group representing faculty, staff, and students was formed and charged with the task of preparing an RFP, evaluating proposals from vendors, and making a recommendation to the vice president for finance and operations on a selected vendor. The group completed their work and made a recommendation to enter into contract negotiations with the Follett Higher Education Group, Inc. This recommendation was been approved by the vice president for finance and operations. A contract negotiations team made up of selected committee members representing faculty, staff, and students has been working with Follett on the contract. Follett Corporation is a privately-held company organized under three business groups - the Follett Higher Education Group, the Follett Education Distribution Group, and the Follett Technology Solutions and International Group. The Follett Higher Education Group is the largest operator of campus bookstores with more than 820 stores under management across the United States and Canada. It also operates efollett.com, the country's leading online campus bookstore. If you are unable to attend the forum, but would like to provide any input, submit your ideas to bookstorecontract@mail.und.nodak.edu. -- Margaret Myers, associate VPFO and chair, negotiations team, and Scott Schreiner, director of purchasing.