Saint Louis University students in search of postage stamps on campus now need look no further than the Busch Student Center. In conjunction with the United States Postal Service, SLU opened a Contract Postal Unit (CPU) in the BSC January 18.
“The CPU program was a great opportunity for us,” said Chris Grabau, building manager of the BSC. A CPU is a supplier-owned or leased site operated by the supplier under contract with the USPS to provide postal services to the public at USPS prices. According to the USPS website, operating a CPU, “increases foot traffic and provides additional customer convenience.”
The BSC CPU will provide the SLU community with services that had not been available on campus since the FedEx unit on the first level of the BSC was converted into a technology center.
These services include metered postage, stamps, priority mail, insured mail, delivery confirmation services and more.
USPS will also add an afternoon pickup for packages the BSC CPU has provided postage for throughout the day.
Cindy Bush, building coordinator of the BSC, said the need for a way to do shipping and postage on campus was identified in surveys on the entire BSC. Prior to the opening of the BSC CPU, “unless you’ve already gone somewhere else and purchased postage, you couldn’t send it [from campus],” Bush said. Now, the BSC CPU will operate as a “little post office,” with services geared toward both sending and receiving mail.
“It’s going to be really convenient for students. Instead of having to walk down the street, they can now do everything in the BSC,” said Jimmy Meiners, co-chair of the Civic Affairs Committee in the Student Government Association.
According to Bush, early plans for a BSC CPU emerged about two and a half years ago. The planning process included research and creation of a proposal for Grabau and Kent Porterfield, vice president of Student Development. Once the proposal was approved, “we had to work with US Postal Service because you have to contract with them and it took a while for it to happen,” Bush said.
The BSC CPU is located in the same space as the previous mail center and the staffing will remain the same.
“The only difference is the services that are provided,” Bush said.
Currently, the BSC CPU is only able to accept cash or Billiken Bucks as payment for stamps and postage.
While the BSC CPU will provide needed shipping and postage services, the process and timeline of receiving mail on campus will likely remain unchanged.
“The post office here at SLU has always had its problems, but this [service] is brand new and should be a much better set up,” Meiners said.
As the SLU community responds to the BSC CPU, Bush said eventually more services and supplies could be provided in the mail center.
“We’re kind of going to tiptoe into that to see what the need is [for additional supplies],” she said.
For now, the BSC CPU represents yet another service center available in the BSC and, according to Grabau, is “an enormous benefit to students, staff and the entire SLU community.”

Additional reporting by Sean Worley.