Staff Spotlight: Barry Meyers

Name: Barry Meyers Title: University Postmaster Time at USC: I just started this spring. Did you work in mail handling before coming to USC? Most recently, I was an operations manager for Pitney Bowes in Charlotte, where I managed a 30-person team that daily handled about one million pieces of mail in partnership with the U.S. Postal Service. For several years before that I managed several operations for Federal Express, both in Newark, N.J., and in Charlotte. And prior to that I was a supervisor for pre-load and package operations for United Parcel Service in New York. I also worked for the City of New York right after graduating from St. John’s University with a degree in finance. I pursued graduate studies at Pace University in New York City. Is that where you’re from? I grew up in Queens in the shadow of Shea Stadium. My parents were big Dodgers fans before the team moved to L.A. I’m a big sports fan—I like water sports particularly, and I coach girl’s fast-pitch softball and basketball. I went to the Garnet and Black game and took my two daughters to watch a Gamecock softball game. What I’ve found unusual about this area is that so many Carolina fans are not alumni—I think that’s great to have that level of support from people who weren’t students here. You would never see that where I’m from. How big is the mail handling operation here? We’re responsible for all campus mail, delivering to 8,000 student boxes in the Russell House and receiving four drops a day from the U.S. Postal Service. We have four dedicated routes on campus that make two deliveries and pickups per day to every department. One of the challenges we face is reducing the transit time for mail that is delivered to the University. I want to educate parents and students so that they are using proper ZIP codes on addresses. We also need to design a Web page that explains who to call with questions, what services are available here, that kind of thing. What are your impressions of USC so far? In this department, I’ve been very pleased to find that we have a very dependable crew. A lot of my success is dependent on our drivers, and when I’ve gone out with them on their routes, it’s been comforting to see the level of dedication they have. Overall, I’ve received quite a warm welcome here. There’s a lot of energy at the University—it’s a very pretty campus with a lot of history. Any chance your daughters will become Gamecocks? My oldest daughter, Kelly, will be a high school senior this next year, and she’s applying here in the fall. Jennifer is in middle school. Right now, I’m still commuting from Charlotte, but we’re hoping to move to Columbia as early as this summer. My wife, Alice, is the IT applications specialist for Carolinas Healthcare in Charlotte. 5/05