For the second consecutive year and the sixth time overall, Wayne State University has received the Corporation of the Year Award – Education Sector from the Michigan Minority Business Development Council (MMBDC), the nation’s largest minority business development organization. The award was presented at MMBDC’s recent annual awards dinner.

To qualify for the award, an institution must have an official supplier diversity policy. MMBDC also encourages large organizations to establish joint ventures or strategic alliances with minority businesses.

“Wayne State is honored to receive this prestigious award once again,” said John Davis, vice president for finance and facilities management. “We have made it a priority to offer minority suppliers an opportunity to compete on a level playing field for contracts. We do this in several ways, one of which is our annual minority procurement conference, which familiarizes minority vendors with how to do business with Wayne State.”

As another example of the university’s commitment to minority entrepreneurs, Davis pointed out that Devon Industrial Group, a minority-owned firm, was a partner with Walbridge Aldinger in construction of Wayne State’s newest student housing facility, the Towers Residential Suites. Other WSU programs aimed at helping minority suppliers to win a fair share of contracts awarded by the university are:

• Mentoring of minority business partners through the WSU/PepsiFritoLay Project One Team, which provides referrals, networking and business opportunities.

• Actively seeking out minority firms and offering them opportunities to bid for contracts.

• Supporting MMBDC-sponsored events aimed at informing potential vendors about bid opportunities and recognizing companies and organizations that have exemplary minority supplier programs.

In addition to the Corporation of the Year Award, Wayne State has received MMBDC’s Corporate ONE Award for the past three years. The award recognizes organizations that are active in MMBDC’s Project ONE program for mentoring minority partners.

Wayne State University is a premier institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 11 schools and colleges to more than 33,000 students.