Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Don't Forget Supplier Diversity

  • 02/01/17

Supplier diversity programs are in place in many campus procurement departments at both large and small, public and private institutions, in order to encourage buying from a wide variety of suppliers, including small suppliers and businesses owned by people from demographic groups that have been historically discriminated against.

At the City University of New York (CUNY), for example, the university has an overall 30 percent MWBE (minority- and women-owned business enterprises) participation goal and 6 percent SDVOB (service-disabled veteran owned businesses) participation goal. Every CUNY campus (senior colleges, community colleges, honors and professional schools) is required to make a good faith effort to achieve the university’s MWBE and SDVOB goal.

At the University of Washington in Seattle, Purchasing Services is committed to ensuring that minority-owned, women-owned, small, disadvantaged, HUB Zone (historically underutilized business zones), veteran-owned and service-disabled-veteran owned businesses have the maximum practicable opportunity to participate in purchasing and contracting at the university of Washington.

Sinclair Community College in Dayton, OH, states a long-term objective to attain 15 percent of its annual volume in Tier I minority- and woman-owned spend.

Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, is known as one of the premier supplier diversity programs in higher education in the U.S. The university has received numerous awards for its work to develop a diverse supplier base and to increase the contracts awarded to Indiana women and minority businesses. Information on Purdue’s commitment and processes can be explored at www.purdue.edu/supplierdiversity.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • DFW-Area District Opens New Replacement Middle School

    The Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District near Fort Worth, Texas, recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new replacement middle school campus, according to a news release. The new facility for Wayside Middle School, originally established in 1964, was built on the site of the former district administration building and funded through Bond Proposition A in 2023.

  • Moline-Coal Valley School District to Consolidate Two Schools into New Facility

    The Moline-Coal Valley School District in Moline, Ill., recently broke ground on a new elementary school that will consolidate the students and staff from two existing schools, according to local news. Robert Ontiveros Elementary School will serve as the new home for Lincoln-Irving Elementary School and Willard Elementary School.

  • Image courtesy of Kahler Slater

    UW–Madison Announces Completion of Morgridge Hall

    The University of Wisconsin–Madison recently announced that construction is complete on Morgridge Hall, a new academic building, according to a news release. The facility opened September 3 at the start of the fall semester, consolidating the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences into a single facility for the first time.

  • Children walking along bright school corridor with motion blur

    How Next-Gen Design Is Reshaping the Student Experience

    The environments where students learn play a crucial role in shaping their growth in and out of the classroom. By centering design on well-being, flexibility, and purpose, districts can ensure their facilities remain vibrant community assets for many years to come.