July 7, 2005
Purdue's plan for diversity reaches out to Indy
|
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University will unroll the next phase of its strategic plan to promote diversity this month, opening an office in Indianapolis to reach out to minority and women-owned businesses and being a major sponsor of the July 10-17 Indiana Black Expo.
The office, to be located in INTECH Park on the northwest side of Indianapolis, is part of the vision of Jesse Moore Jr., who came to Purdue in February to establish ways to connect the university with minority and women suppliers and contractors.
Moore said in operating the business sourcing office he plans to capitalize on relationships he built during the past nine years heading the Indianapolis Black Chamber of Commerce and his more than 20 years in business development.
"Only a handful of universities in the country have created positions specifically to help minority and women businesses wanting to work with them," Moore said. "I'm proud to say Purdue is one of them."
Since February, Moore has been working internally with Purdue staff to review policies and practices and to grow the database of minority suppliers. He's also been making presentations to minority vendors and business advocacy groups around the state.
"Often smaller companies just need a little help understanding the bidding process," Moore said. "We're now being proactive in making sure all companies have accurate and timely information."
Moore said increasing minority participation at every level is critical for the nation's future.
"This is about access to opportunity and the creation of wealth," he said, comparing it to what Henry Ford practiced 100 years ago. "You empower people to afford the product or service that you and they produce together.
"We are accomplishing that on a macro-level: Provide people with the opportunity to develop their business, help them achieve the American dream, and you help the entire economy."
The Purdue initiative is already paying dividends:
• In May, minority-owned Smoot Construction in Indianapolis was awarded the $43.5 million general contract to build Purdue's Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering.
• The three-year OnePurdue project to modernize administrative computing applications is spending 10 percent of its nearly $20 million budget with minority- and woman-owned businesses such as Professional Data Dimension, owned by Wayne Patrick in Indianapolis, and Prairie Quest Consulting, owned by Stacey Smith in Ft. Wayne.
• When the Indianapolis Black Chamber of Commerce named her the 2005 New Entrepreneur of the Year, Michelle Taylor, owner of Milor Supply Inc., credited Purdue food buyer Brian Van Horn for helping her business get started and thrive.
Moore is looking for inroads across the state, but he expects Indianapolis to be the source of many new businesses because it contains the greatest concentration of minority- and women-owned businesses in the state. Establishing the office at INTECH Park will allow convenient access to Purdue's contracting opportunities.
At Black Expo, which is taking place in the Indiana Convention Center, Purdue representatives will be on hand to engage not only business leaders, but also community leaders, parents, alumni and potential students.
"Purdue has been involved with Black Expo in the past, but this is the first time this university has been a sponsoring presenter," said Joseph L. Bennett, vice president for university relations. "We have committed $75,000 to support this very significant event and have reserved a 1,200-square-foot area for Purdue displays and more than 100 university representatives."
This year Purdue also is sponsoring the Expo's Youth Summit, where 300 of some of the leaders of tomorrow will divide their time for three days between the Indianapolis Marriot Downtown and the Convention Center. The summit will include peer-to-peer training, seminars, workshops and networking opportunities.
Purdue President Martin C. Jischke will offer welcoming remarks at the Youth Summit luncheon, beginning at noon July 15 at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown.
"One of the first projects Dr. Jischke began when he came to Purdue involved assembling a group of youth leaders here at Purdue for regular meetings, often at his home," Bennett said. "He is anxious to extend that same hand to Purdue's future student leaders."
An alumni reception also is planned for 7-9 p.m. on July 15 in the Convention Center's ATA Lounge. Purdue has more than 7,000 African-American alumni in Indiana, and the Cincinnati, Louisville and Chicago areas.
Writer: Jim Schenke, (765) 494-6262, jschenke@purdue.edu
Sources: Jesse Moore Jr., (765) 494-3739, jlmoore@purdue.edu
Brian Van Horn, (765) 494-2022, bvanhorn@purdue.edu
Michelle Taylor, (317) 822-8133, info@milorinc.com
Joseph Bennett, (765) 494-2082, jlbennett@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
Related Web site:
Purdue supplier diversity
To the News Service home page