The University of Chicago Medicine has been awarded the 2012 Supplier Diversity Leadership Award by UHC, a prestigious nationwide alliance of non-profit academic medical centers, in recognition of its commitment to expanding the use of certified women-, minority- and veteran-owned contractors as business partners throughout its campus.
UHC cited, among other factors, letters of support for the University of Chicago Medicine from diverse suppliers in the area, a clearly articulated plan for its supplier diversity program, spearheading an annual business diversity symposium since 2008 and the accolades received throughout Chicago for its business diversity manager, James Williams.
One of the key projects underscoring the University of Chicago Medicine's commitment to diversity is the new 1.2 million-square-foot hospital pavilion. Its goal is to grant 40 percent of contracts to build and run the facility to women- and minority-owned businesses. The new $700 million hospital will open to patients in February 2013.
"The University of Chicago Medicine has had a long-standing commitment to working with and developing diverse suppliers. With the new hospital, we have awarded significant contracts for construction, construction labor and even items such as new computers and scrubs to diverse suppliers," said Jonathan Stegner, vice president of supply chain and logistics. "I am delighted with the recognition UHC has given the University of Chicago Medicine for our ongoing commitment to diversity and our recent outstanding results."
The award is based on several criteria:
- Structure and strength of the organization's supplier diversity program
- New programs or techniques that facilitated the growth of diverse businesses in 2011
- Community involvement and outreach to minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses
- Senior leaders' involvement in supplier diversity development
- Utilization of diversity contracts, especially from Novation, a health care supply contracting company with 65,000 members and affiliates nationwide
- Use of Novation's supplier diversity suite of solutions