The Tri-State Minority Supplier Development Council named UofL 2012 Corporation of the Year in the public sector. UofL has received an award from the council four times since 2000.
In fiscal year 2011–12, UofL set out to increase minority participation in its business enterprises from 15 percent to 25 percent. It revised bid documents to encourage companies to solicit minority contractors and held training workshops for vendors.
By the end of the fiscal year, UofL had achieved a minority participation rate of 22 percent and had upped its spending on minority businesses from $1.3 million to $5 million.
UofL successfully recruited minority businesses to work on a wide range of key projects, including construction of a new student recreation center, renovation of the Belknap Campus north entrance and expansion of Jim Patterson Baseball Stadium, university officials said.
TSMSDC is a regional chapter of the National Supplier Development Council which provides a link between corporations and minority-owned businesses nationwide. The council serves more than 80 major corporations and about 300 minority businesses in parts of Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia.
