(Posted May 9, 2017)

From left, James A. Troha, president at Juniata; Teri Blanchard, interim vice president for finance and administration at Juniata; Staci Shuck, co-owner of Grove's Office Supplies; and Jeff Shuck, co-owner of Grove's Office Supplies, pose after signing an agreement to operate the renovated and renamed student store, Headwaters at Juniata. The name is inspired by the painting in between, called "Headwaters at Juniata," by Thomas Cole.
Photo by Amber Boring '17
From left, James A. Troha, president at Juniata; Teri Blanchard, interim vice president for finance and administration at Juniata; Staci Shuck, co-owner of Grove's Office Supplies; and Jeff Shuck, co-owner of Grove's Office Supplies, pose after signing an agreement to operate the renovated and renamed student store, Headwaters at Juniata. The name is inspired by the painting in between, called "Headwaters at Juniata," by Thomas Cole.
Photo by Amber Boring '17

   HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Two Huntingdon, Pa. business owners, Jeff and Staci Shuck, the owners of Grove’s Office Supplies, will be taking over the lease for the bookstore space in Ellis Hall at Juniata College, effective May 18, when the new space will re-open under the name Headwaters at Juniata College.

            The Shucks will continue to operate Grove’s Office Supply, which will remain at its Route 22 location in Huntingdon. The Shucks chose the new name in honor of a painting by Thomas Cole, called “Headwaters at Juniata,” in the collection of the Juniata College Museum of Art.

            The painting by Cole, (1801-1848) one of the most celebrated early American artists and a founder of the Hudson River School, depicts a solitary figure traversing a wooden bridge over the Juniata River, signifies the store’s role as a bridge between the college and the Huntingdon community. Cole’s distinctive work celebrates and romanticizes the American wilderness.

“One of our goals as owners of a local business is to serve, promote and support the local community and local industry,” says Staci Shuck, co-owner of Grove’s Office Supply. “The Juniata College community and the many visitors to campus and the Huntingdon community have supported Grove’s. We are so excited to partner with Juniata to continue to provide products and services that bring campus, community and others together while appreciating all the area and region have to offer.  Our goal is to make Huntingdon and Juniata College a destination, a place to learn about campus, the Huntingdon community and the history behind Headwaters at Juniata College.”

            Headwaters at Juniata College will be the retail store for all official Juniata memorabilia, sportswear, souvenirs, gifts and other products. In addition the store will continue to carry snacks, refreshments and other student needs.

"We are so excited to partner with Juniata to continue to provide products and services that bring campus, community and others together while appreciating all the area and region have to offer. Our goal is to make Huntingdon and Juniata College a destination, a place to learn about campus, the Huntingdon community and the history behind Headwaters at Juniata College."

Staci Shuck

“Not only are we veteran business owners and retailers, we are life-long residents of the Huntingdon community,” says Jeff Shuck. “Our family members owned businesses here, we grew up here, we went to school here, we've worked here, we’ve raised our family here. We’ve volunteered, supported and patronized community and business activities and we’ve supported and participated in a variety of activities, athletic and education activities at Juniata College. We have a strong sense of pride in the community and in Juniata College.”

             Juniata also has formed a partnership with Akademos Inc., an online bookstore provider that will allow students to shop for textbooks and course materials in the money-saving format of their choice and place orders at any time from any device. The Juniata-sponsored virtual bookstore platform will provide students with a wider selection of course materials to choose from, including new, used marketplace, rental and eBooks -- which should dramatically expand students’ access to lower cost materials.

            Juniata student orders from Akademos will be distributed from the Headwaters store.

Akademos offers more than 100 million new and used textbooks for students to choose from with the average student saving 60 percent off the list price. At the end of each term, students will have the option to sell back their textbooks through the Akademos peer-to-peer marketplace to recoup some of their cost. 

“We are confident that transitioning to a personalized, school-sanctioned virtual bookstore with a marketplace that offers students more competitive pricing on course materials is the right decision for Juniata,” said James A. Troha, president of Juniata College. “Partnering with Akademos closely aligns with our strategic plan. Our goal is to give our students access to the best resources available to help them grow and thrive as individuals who think deeply and care deeply about their community.”

The Akademos Adoption & Analytics portal allows faculty to compare real-time prices for course materials in multiple formats to choose the best, low-cost options for students. The analytics tools enable faculty and administrators to have critical control over the faculty-adoption and student-purchasing process to track progress from across the entire college to individual classes.

“Our unique and innovative full-service bookstore solution aligns closely with Juniata’s reputation for collaborative student-faculty relationships and state-of-the-art technologies,” said John Squires, Akademos chief executive officer. “What we have seen with other institutions is that a greater selection of materials in different formats, including marketplace options, leads to reduced course material costs-- which results in greater access to learning materials and an increase in student preparedness and academic success.”

The introduction of the Akademos virtual bookstore platform for course materials will enable Headwaters at Juniata to transition to a full-service general merchandise campus store. The hybrid bookstore model will allow Juniata to use the space previously dedicated to textbooks and course materials to now offer a wider selection of spirit wear, supplies and other merchandise to better serve its community.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.