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Supplier Diversity Initiative report shows progress
By Andy Clendennen The numbers are in, and they show great improvement. The Supplier Diversity Initiative annual report for fiscal year 2002 was recently released, and the University is continuing to make great strides in incorporating minority- and women-owned firms into the fold. At the same time, everyone recognizes that there is still a long way to go and that the University still has room for improvement. Direct payments to minority- or women-owned firms have risen from $9.3 million in 1999 to $30.7 million in 2002. The payments to minority-owned firms alone jumped more than $10 million between 2001 and 2002. "This is good from the standpoint that many things we put in place three or four years ago are actually having an impact much more in the long-term view of things instead of the short term," said Sandra Marks, director of supplier diversity. "The general contractors started with us three years ago, and our volume is becoming higher and higher because everyone is becoming more and more comfortable with what we are doing." In 1999, the University started to build new relationships with women- and minority-owned firms and businesses, and those relationships are continually being built. Marks pointed out that the original goal wasn't to spend money on these firms, but to cultivate and nurture these relationships. The approach is working. In fiscal year 2002, 37.2 percent of total dollars paid out on capital projects went to minority- and women-owned firms, up from 25 percent in fiscal year 1999. "Washington University's Supplier Diversity Initiative, under the leadership of Sandra Marks, has made significant strides in the past several years, and the entire University community should be proud of these accomplishments and contributions to the St. Louis community," Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton said. "Still, we remain aware of the work still left to be done in order to ensure a successful leveling of the economic playing field in the St. Louis region. We remain committed to that goal." Construction isn't the only area showing great improvement. "We are also seeing more spending on the non-construction side, more spending with our preferred suppliers," Marks said. "The past two or three years have been a gradual process of utilizing those firms more and more, and now in some categories we are almost at full strength." One aspect that has helped the rise in spending is the implementation of a policy of paying minority- and women-owned firms directly. "When we started this program we used subcontractors, and many of the firms were not paid directly," Marks said. "But now the dollars flow directly from us to the firm." Marks acknowledged that there is always room for improvement, but what has happened so far is definitely reason to be optimistic. "We're nowhere near where we should be; we still have a long way to go," she said. "But I was talking with a contractor recently, and a few years ago we were negotiating the moving of a cement slab, and now we're in talks with the same contractor about constructing new buildings. "We've come a long way from moving a slab." |
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