Purdue creates opportunities for area minority- and women-owned businesses
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University is bringing buyers from several local corporations to campus to join with minority- and women-owned supplier companies from Tippecanoe County for two days of relationship-building activities.
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"We at Purdue have had great success connecting with minority and women business entities from across the state and creating business relationships that have benefited them as well as the university," Moore said. "We are encouraged that our corporate neighbors are equally committed to business diversity and that we can help them achieve their goals."
Buyers from Purdue will be joined by representatives from event co-sponsors. William Ensign, leader of purchasing at Lilly's Tippecanoe Laboratories, worked with Purdue's director of sponsored programs Larry Pherson to launch the Lafayette Supplier Diversity Development Coalition in 2002.
"Lilly is committed to a diverse work force and that extends into our supply chain as well," Ensign said. "We want a supplier base that reflects the makeup of the community in which we are rooted. The business relationships we have formed through this initiative have been mutually beneficial, and we expect them to be long-lasting."
In addition to the seminar's four co-sponsors, fellow coalition members such as Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc., Caterpillar Large Engine Center and Kirby Risk also have been invited to the seminar. Other Lafayette area companies invited include Kettlehut Construction Inc., Shambaugh & Sons Construction LLP, Huston Electric Inc., Smoot Construction LLC, Gaylor Group Inc., J.R. Kelly Construction Inc. and D.A. Dodd Inc.
As a coalition member, the city of Lafayette also will send representatives. Lafayette, West Lafayette and Tippecanoe County will each proclaim Nov. 15 and 16 as days in honor of the coalition at the county commissioners meeting on Monday (Nov. 6).
Purdue organizes several supplier relationship-building events every year, including each summer at Indiana Black Expo.
"We make a lot of good contacts that we invite to talk in detail with our purchasing agents," said Doug Sabel, Purdue's director of procurement operations. "We've significantly increased the diversity of our list of potential suppliers."
Purdue supplier diversity programs have brought more than 300 business owners to campus since it was established in 2005. Leslie Ray, owner of the Mad Matter in Mulberry, Ind., first met Sabel last year. She now sells hundreds of dollars of floor mats to various Purdue departments each month. Since attending a coalition event in May, Ray also is now doing business with State Farm and Tate & Lyle.
"Every chance we have to be in front of them, we get there," Ray said. "This has been a very fruitful relationship for us."
Ray plans to be at the two-day seminar to be held in Stewart Center, Room 314. The seminar will feature four two-hour sessions, each geared towards a specific group of suppliers:
* Session 1, 9:30-11:30 a.m., Nov. 15: construction, architectural, engineering and related services.
* Session 2, 1:30-3:30 p.m., Nov. 15: marketing, computing, and information technology services.
* Session 3, 9:30-11:30 a.m., Nov. 16: products and goods.
* Session 4, 1:30-3:30 p.m., Nov. 16: other professional services.
Participants in both daily sessions will gather for lunch at 11:45 a.m. in the Purdue Memorial Union's North Ballroom. Entrepreneur and author Melvin Gravely will speak at both luncheons.
Each of the sessions is limited to the first 75 suppliers to register. Buyers and suppliers can register for the conference by online or by contacting Ed Keller at (765) 494-9482, ebkeller@purdue.edu. The admission fee of $25 per session or $35 for an entire day includes parking and lunch.
The goal of the Office of Supplier Diversity Development is to cultivate opportunities for qualified minority- and women-owned businesses to partner with Purdue. The office provides centralized services for Indiana minority and women business owners, including serving as a consultant on becoming a Purdue vendor, a liaison between external business owners and Purdue departments seeking goods and services, and a connection to Purdue entities that can assist business owners and entrepreneurs with business development ventures. The office also conducts outreach to advocacy organizations and maintains ongoing communication with minority and women business owners.
Writer: Jim Schenke, (765) 494-6262, jschenke@purdue.edu
Sources: Jesse Moore Jr., (764)494-3739, jlmoore@purdue.edu
William Ensign, (765) 477-4300, ensign@lilly.com
Doug Sabel, (765) 494-4186, dwsabel@purdue.edu
Leslie Ray, (765) 714-4797, madmats@ssni.com
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
PHOTO CAPTION:
Jesse Moore Jr., Purdue's manager of supplier diversity development, talks with attorney Karma Rodgers at a March 1 reception for prospective vendors. (Purdue News Service file photo/David Umberger)
A publication-quality file photo is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2006/supplier-diversity.jpg
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