U of M Lambuth gets FedEx call center, creates 50 jobs for students

JACKSON, Tenn. — FedEx plans to open a new IT call center at the University of Memphis Lambuth campus. The company and university made the joint announcement Wednesday at a reception on campus.

Justin Robinson Page is one of 26 U of M Lambuth students hired this month to work at the call center. “It is a lot of information to retain, but at the same time exciting,” he said.

The university said more students will be hired in August, creating 50 new jobs. “It allows us to offer students high-paying jobs on campus,” U of M Lambuth Vice Provost Niles Reddick said. “Thirteen dollars an hour is what they start out making.”

Student employees will work 10 to 20 hours per week. They answer calls from FedEx employees having difficulties with everything from computers to passwords.

“On the phone they’ll actually walk our employees through actually how to fix their own problem,” FedEx Enterprise Service Desk IT Director Kassaundra Sanders said.

The university said they started training students in early May. They started taking calls this week.

Employees learn technical and communication skills. FedEx works around student schedules. “With a call center, you could work two hours this day and six hours the next day, so it helps them get through school and get paid,” Sanders said.

Students get real-world experience they hope could lead to a full-time job. “It’s just a great opportunity that leads to a career path,” Page said.

The call center officially opens for business June 1.

This is the second FedEx IT call center affiliated with the University of Memphis. They opened the first site on the main campus in Memphis last fall.