Jamba Juice, CU Split on Contract

Last year, the addition of a Jamba Juice stand in Ferris Booth Commons seemed to be a sure thing, but it was not built over the summer and its future at Columbia is now uncertain.

"We could not come to an agreement in the language in the contract," Scott Wright, director of Housing and Dining, said.

The Jamba Juice contract calls for the full use of the Columbia University name, a provision which Columbia takes issue with. In theory, under the contract the smoothie franchise could use Columbia in advertising campaigns, a possibility that makes University lawyers uncomfortable.

"It's definitely a deal breaker for us," Wright said.

Jamba Juice does have locations at other schools, including Stanford University, but, according to Wright, no other institution has had a conflict over the franchise's use of its name.

Although Columbia Dining is in the process of changing the contract's language in order to better suit the University's needs, there is no promise of bringing Jamba's smoothies to campus.

"We're a little nervous that it won't work out," Wright said.