From Commencement and Reunions to exams and brochures, as Customer Service Manager in Print & Mail Services, Kathy Drew makes a significant contribution toward the University’s mission to advance learning through scholarship, research, and teaching by working on projects that touch everyone.
By Anita Fresolone, Office of Human Resources
Kathy helps manage over 5,000 jobs each year that support faculty, staff, students, and alumni in their printing, mailing, and graphic design needs.
“I love the printing industry and just love to come to work every day!”
Kathy Drew, customer service manager of Print & Mail Services, brings this passion to her role as she takes in job requests, makes recommendations, finds solutions, and works on estimates that stay within budgets, both big and small.
Located at 701 Forrestal, Kathy and the facility manage over 5,000 jobs each year (many with multiple parts) from across campus that support faculty, staff, students, and alumni in their printing, mailing, and graphic design needs.
Kathy also works closely with Procurement to identity diverse suppliers for jobs that need to be outsourced. To that end, she partners with approved vendors that are woman, minority, and veteran owned.
With its fast-paced environment and last-minute deadlines, a typical day does not exist at Print & Mail.
“I work well under pressure and am used to very busy days. I enjoy the challenge of getting in a new job and meeting the deadline early, if possible. And when a client appreciates ‘a job well done’ it’s a great feeling!”
Kathy and her four-person team also welcome “constructive criticism,” so they can make necessary improvements for the next job request.
The team not only works hard, they must also stay in sync as most jobs require an orchestrated process with many details to follow. This includes communicating with the production manager to ensure they are completing jobs in the most efficient manner possible.
Communication allows for Kathy and the Print & Mail team to complete jobs in the most efficient manner.
When Kathy reflects on the last few years, she explains how she will never forget the challenges Print & Mail faced as a production facility due to COVID. “We had to change the way we worked in order to keep things moving, like sending proofs to people’s homes or how we would ensure deliveries got to the right person because there was no one around to receive them.”
Print & Mail’s current challenge relates to supply chain issues, with many paper types not available or in low quantities, which can result in higher than usual prices for clients. However, Kathy and her team are dedicated to satisfying their clients and will do a lot of searching and follow-up to find stock.
Kathy feels proud of the variety of contributions that she and Print & Mail lend to the University: business cards, final exams, materials for the staff Service Recognition Program, Commencement, Reunions, and Open Enrollment. “When a project reaches its goal or an event runs well, it’s nice to know you were a part of the success.”
“We want to be your trusted campus partner. All of us here are committed to supporting our community however we can, and I strive to provide the best customer service experience possible.”
Kathy Drew makes more impact than you can imagine.
If you are interested in working with Print & Mail, reach out to them at [email protected].
(Note: The Print & Mail location at 201 Nassau Street handles large format printing.)
Feedback? Questions? Suggestions for future stories on staff who exemplify Princeton’s mission? Please write to the HR Communications Team.