Supplier Diversity Wordmark

USDP Core Values

SMBE Connect

About Us

USDP Mission

To expand enrollment and participation of small/minority businesses on University contracts, by facilitating the opportunity for said businesses to provide valuable, quality, timely goods and services, while building mutually beneficial, respectful, lasting business relationships with the University community.

USDP Policy Statement

The University of Connecticut is committed to providing a professionally inclusive environment within which small/minority businesses are encouraged to participate in the procurement experience, as they are afforded equal access to the bid process that transfers goods and services to the campus communities.

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UConn Winner of GNEMSDC 2022 Institute of Higher Learning of the Year Award

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GNEMSDC 2022 Institute of Higher Learning of the Year Award

On December 9, 2022 The University Connecticut was honored to be selected as the 2022 recipient for Institution of Higher Learning of the Year, awarded at the 2022 Annual Greater New England Supplier Development Council (GNEMSDC) Award Ceremony. Veronica F. Cook, Executive Program Director for the Supplier Diversity Program was present to receive the award. This is the third time that this honor has been bestowed upon UConn, with the other two awards being received in 2018 and 2019.

National Association of Edu Procurement (NAEP) Annual Meeting

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NAEP 2022 Panel Discussion

USDP Panelist – 2022 National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP) Annual Meeting

On Monday, June 6, 2022, Veronica F. Cook, Executive Program Director (far right) proudly represented the UConn Supplier Diversity Program (USDP) in Grapevine, Texas, at the first in-person Annual Meeting of the National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP) since Covid began. The University of Connecticut was part of a panel discussion along with Pennsylvania State University, Metropolitan Community College, and Grand Valley State University (from far left to right). Cook has recently served as co-chair on both the NAEP DEI Committee and the Supplier Diversity Sub-Committee.

UConn Honored Again by INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine

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Jesse L Moore Supplier Diversity Award

For a second consecutive year, UConn was one of eleven institutions nationwide to receive the Jesse L. Moore 2022 Supplier Diversity Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, “for taking proactive steps to support and engage with minority-owned businesses through our unique programs and leading initiatives among institutions of higher education”.

The winners were announced February 28, 2022, and UConn was honored along with the others in the magazine’s April 2022 issue (starting on Page 32).

USDP Interviewed by INSIGHT Into Diversity

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Insight Into Diversity

UConn Supplier Diversity Program (USDP) Executive Program Director Veronica F. Cook was featured in an article by INSIGHT Into Diversity, entitled, “An Interview with the Experts: How Campus Procurement Advances Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”, along with NAEP’s Executive Director Krista Ferrell.  The October 2021 article can be found here, starting on page 28.

Tier 2 Supplier Survey

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The University of Connecticut is committed to providing a professionally inclusive environment within which small and historically-underutilized diverse businesses are encouraged to participate in our procurement experience.  We are requesting that those contracting with us also partner with this commitment to inclusion; and to highlight the inclusive procurement practices of those we are contracting with, we are collecting Tier 2 utilization data using this brief survey.

UConn Honored for Policies, Programs Ensuring Diversity Among Suppliers

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UConn is being honored for its commitment to economic inclusion in ensuring that companies operated by members of underrepresented populations receive adequate access and information to compete for University contracts.

UConn is one of nine institutions nationwide to receive the inaugural Jesse L. Moore 2021 Supplier Diversity Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and only print publication focusing on diversity and inclusion in higher education. Read More on UConn Today