NAEP Annual
Meeting
The Magic of
Collaboration &
Partnership
Orlando, FL
April 7 – 10, 2013
Building Professional Service
Partnerships: A Strategic Imperative for
Supplier Diversity Programs
Nadia M. Quarles, Esq., Assistant Vice President for
Business Diversity
Annual Meeting
April 7 - 10, 2013
Orlando, Florida
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Founded in 1892, and located on a 215 acre campus,
7 miles south of Chicago’s downtown
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Reporting Structure - Senior Leadership
Accountability
• Executive Leadership – Robert Zimmer,
President
• Board Leadership – John Rogers, Jr., Trustee
• Single Executive with Accountability –
Executive Vice President for Administration
and CFO
Annual Meeting
April 7 - 10, 2013
Orlando, Florida
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Business Diversity at the University of Chicago
• Our Goal:
Become a national model for
inclusion and opportunity in
business
relationships
• Strategies for accomplishing this goal :
• Traditional Model :
level
construction,
Typically aimed at entry
jobs (janitorial,
etc.)
• University of Chicago Focus :
professional
partnerships
minority-and
Annual Meeting
women-owned firms
April 7 - 10, 2013
Orlando, Florida
Building
service
with
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Business Case for a Professional Service Driven
Program
• Professional Service industries are the greatest
drivers of economic development and pay the
highest wages:
» Legal
» IT
» Money Management (Endowment
Investments)
» Accounting
» Marketing/Advertising
» Human Resources
» Architecture
Annual Meeting
April 7 - 10, 2013
Orlando, Florida
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Our Approach
• Grassroots, hand to hand combat
• ADD to the pool of University partners, not replace
existing relationships
• Find and facilitate sustainable relationships with
key partners in a highly decentralized environment
• Support partners in every step of the process
Annual Meeting
April 7 - 10, 2013
Orlando, Florida
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Annual Professional Services Symposium
• Departmental overviews by senior leaders,
networking reception and full day of business
presentations
• Brings together firms and senior decision makers
• Provides a forum that facilitates direct introductions
• Active engagement goes well beyond the Symposium
• Results closely monitored and tracked
Annual Meeting
April 7 - 10, 2013
Orlando, Florida
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Symposium Results – Innovative Partnerships
“I applaud the University of
Chicago for including Ebony and
Black Enterprise in their
marketing and advertising
strategy. As the African American
buying power approaches one
trillion dollars annually,
advertising in trusted
publications like Ebony and
Black Enterprise is a smart
business decision and a wise
approach to increase one’s
visibility in the community.”
Andrea L. Zopp
President and CEO, Chicago
Urban League
Annual Meeting
April 7 - 10, 2013
Orlando, Florida
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Partnership with Ebony: “Public Schools, Private Innovations” - roundtable event on
MSNBC, featured Urban Education Institute and distinguished local /national experts
discussing the public education crisis.
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Symposium Results – Over 20 New Firms
• Executive Search: The Hollins Group and the Exeter
Group
• Hired 2 minority-owned money management firms to
invest a portion of the University’s endowment funds:
• Chicago-based Holland Capital Management and
Earnest Partners from Atlanta
• External Audit partnerships with Washington, Pittman
& McKeever and Mitchell & Titus
• Williams Capital Management’s taxable bond
proceeds management
Annual Meeting
April 7 - 10, 2013
Orlando, Florida
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Symposium Results…
• Risk Management: Lambent Risk Management
Services
• Legal Services: provided to the University by Neal &
Leroy, Green and Letts and Pugh, Jones and
Johnson
• Financial Services: Loop Capital, Cabrera Capital
Markets
• IT Services: Blackwell Global Consulting, a CGN
Company and Excel Solutions
Annual Meeting
April 7 - 10, 2013
Orlando, Florida
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Annual Meeting
April 7 - 10, 2013
Orlando, Florida
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Questions?
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Nadia M. Quarles, Esq.
Assistant Vice President for Business Diversity
The University of Chicago
6054 S. Drexel Avenue, Suite 445
Chicago, IL 60637
773-702-2553
nquarles@uchicago.edu
http://businessdiversity.uchicago.edu
Annual Meeting
April 7 - 10, 2013
Orlando, Florida
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