UVAFinance in Action: March 28, 2024

Ryan Balber

Ryan Balber, Director of the Virginia Higher Education Procurement Consortium, attended the Association of Collegiate Computing Services of Virginia Annual Conference in Portsmouth earlier this March.  

Here he is representing VHEPC!

What a great crew!

The UVA Procurement Team was well-represented at the National Association of Educational Procurement's EPIC Conference in Washington DC last week.  Leading sessions were Mark Cartwright, who shared "Benchmarking Best Practices in Supplier Diversity," and Shannon Wampler, who shared a session on presentation skills called "Everyone's a Diamond."

VSU SWaM Vendor Fair

The Supplier Diversity team attended Virginia State University’s first SWaM Vendor Fair. The event included local small, woman, and minority-owned firms from the Greater Richmond region, raffles, and networking activities. 

Our department staff learned about new SWaM-owned businesses and increasing supplier contacts. Virginia State University's department goal is to achieve a 45% SWaM goal for FY’24 and we look forward to supporting them on their journey.  

The Supplier Diversity Team was also pleased to attend the Mega Mix event. The Chamber RVA hosted the event on March 13, which included some of the most influential business organizations in the state. This event was put together in partnership with organizations such as the Richmond LGBTQ Chamber, Goochland Chamber of Commerce, Metropolitan Business League, Virginia Hispanic Chamber, Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce and Hopewell Prince George Chamber. The Mega Mix included an educational workshop, vendor exhibit, and networking opportunities on a new level.  We value the opportunity to collaborate with diverse business organizations. 

Patty Marbury & Katie Walker

Patty Marbury and Katie Walker completed a course through the Stanford Graduate School of Business: Leverage Diversity and Inclusion for Organization Excellence. This course aligns with our UVAFinance core value of Diverse and Inclusive Teams.

The program offered insights and approaches to increase the talent pool when recruiting for positions, recommendations for encouraging diverse perspectives to drive individual and team performance, information on how to create an inclusive workplace where everyone feels welcome and valued for their contributions.