Jeanette Schutz, senior director supplier diversity, leads a new team already hard at work increasing Dallas College's business relationships with diverse suppliers.
Contact: Cherie Yurco;
cmyurco@dcccd.edu
For immediate release — Jan. 26, 2022
(DALLAS) — The
Supplier Diversity program aims to develop, maintain and enhance participation with diverse suppliers by providing equal access to business opportunities at Dallas College. A diverse supplier is a business that is at least 51% owned and operated by an individual or individuals from a traditionally underrepresented or underserved population. For example, the Small Business Administration’s
Small Business Profile for Texas found 43.2% of Texas small businesses were women owned, 29.4% were Hispanic owned, 20.4% were minority owned and 6.7% were veteran owned.
To be inclusive of diverse suppliers from our community, Dallas College formed a new supplier diversity team in fall 2021. “Our purpose is to strengthen economic development in our community and for Dallas College to be a leader in supplier diversity,” said Senior Director of Supplier Diversity Jeanette Schutz.
The new team has been hard at work to increase the college’s business relationships with diverse suppliers. During the coming years, the team will conduct internal and external outreach as well as develop a mentorship program and training for local small businesses.
Benefits of supplier diversity include promoting innovation, providing multiple procurement channels for goods and services, driving up competition while driving down prices and displaying a strong interest in and commitment to the economic growth of the community.
“We look forward to our area of supplier diversity contributing to the economic development of our community by providing equitable access to the contracting opportunities available at the college,” said Dallas College Chief Social Responsibility and Inclusion Officer Marisol Romany.
To this end, the supplier diversity team is developing a program, which begins with careful analysis and evaluation. “Right now, we are establishing an accurate baseline of internal spending for the last four years, categorizing those companies and determining which are certified diverse suppliers,” Schutz said.
Once the baseline has been identified, we will set growth parameters for increasing our diverse supplier spend over multiple years. “By increasing awareness, we can get more people involved in the process,” she said.
According to Schutz, the key will be bridging the needs of the college with the available resources in the market. Immediately before joining Dallas College, she was minority business manager for Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise, where she more than doubled spending with diverse suppliers from $32 million in 2011 to $70 million in 2021. The new team is hoping to quickly gain results for Dallas College.
Dallas College’s Supplier Diversity program actively reaches out to partner organizations — chambers of commerce, regional contractor associations and others — to present information on how to do business with Dallas College as well as upcoming opportunities in areas like commodities, facilities, IT, construction and more.
The team also spreads awareness for supplier diversity within Dallas College, Schutz said. “We are strengthening our internal relationships and will be expanding our database of qualified and certified businesses.
“I would like everyone at Dallas College to know about the program and the importance of giving opportunities to small and diverse business owners; there's amazing synergy at Dallas College with people dedicated and focused on supplier diversity, social responsibility, equity, inclusion and sustainability,” she said.
The supplier diversity program demonstrates our foundational commitment to ethical business practices that are key to Dallas College’s strategic priorities. “We look forward to our area of supplier diversity contributing to the economic development of our community by providing equitable access to the contracting opportunities available at the college,” said Dallas College Chief Social Responsibility and Inclusion Officer Marisol Romany.
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