1985 New Half-Million Dollar Bookstore Hired New Manager Cindy Salatino

Years before the half-million dollar bookstore opened on Capitol Campus, college administrators had been discussing the bookstore’s inevitable expansion. It finally became a reality but not without its setbacks. The new building was slated to open on September 28, 1984, but inclement weather and minor conflicts among contractors delayed its grand opening on March 10, 1985.

William Kistler – who had managed the bookstore since 1968 – retired the summer after the new bookstore opened, which left a window of opportunity for Lucinda “Cindy” Salatino, whom the college hired as the new bookstore manager in August 1985.

Salatino graduated with a B.S. in education from Slippery Rock State College, held multiple store management positions at various retail outlets, and was the manager of the Shenango Valley Campus bookstore for six years prior to accepting the position at Capitol Campus.

From the beginning, Salatino said she wanted to make the bookstore more student-oriented because it had previously functioned more for faculty than students. Some of the changes she implemented illustrate this goal:

• Hired seven part-time student cashiers and stock persons
• Implemented a Book Buy Back Day so students could recoup some money they had spent on textbooks
• Added new items to the bookstore’s inventory to attract student patronage like more calculators, food, health and beauty products, lamps, transparent tape and Penn State waste cans