'Pop-up' barbershop to be ready for use by Spring Fest, Cooper says

Anthony Jackson|Courtbouillon

NEW ORLEANS (February 14, 2020) – It’s been four years in the making, but a space for a “pop-up” barber shop in the Kearny Lounge should be completed by Spring Fest, thanks to a grant written by Dr. Alicia Cooper, assistant professor of marketing and Dr. Richard Igwike, then-interim chair of the College of Business.

As Cooper recalled it, a student resident suggested an on-campus barber shop four years ago. The student lived in Williams Hall and had been cutting hair for a $5 fee until he was told he had to stop because it was against school policy.

Cooper applied for a grant from the Louisiana Board of Regents and received $8,000 for the project in 2016 to provide equipment to outfit the space: two complete workstations (mirrors, swivel barber chairs, rolling chairs, a work table and eight guest chairs) plus supplies such as barbicide jars, sanitizer bins, two barber capes and two client capes.

The equipment has arrived and should be installed by Spring Fest. Once this is done, the plan is that any student with a barber’s license may use the facilities to cut hair. This will not be a space that will be open on a daily basis, Cooper said, but rather as a “pop-up,” open on request.

Cooper said her vision was not just to provide an on-campus barber shop but to provide a space for student entrepreneurs to come together.  She said research is being done regarding a beauty salon, but this involves a lot more regulations.

(Shania Campbell contributed to this report.)