The state Office for Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB) recently presented UNC Charlotte with one of six Good Faith Effort Awards at the 32nd annual State Construction Conference held in Raleigh.
The University received the honor in the category of Public Sector Owner/Agency in recognition of the UNC Charlotte’s campus-wide commitment to the state’s HUB program and utilization of HUB firms.
“Collaborative efforts undertaken by purchasing, the design services team and the capital projects team have resulted in a number of initiatives to increase minority participation in construction projects at UNC Charlotte,” said Dorothy Vick, HUB coordinator.
For the second year, UNC Charlotte led the UNC system in HUB participation for capital projects. Team members conduct meet-and-greets between contractors working on campus with HUB firms several times a year. Vick produced a vendor information guide “Doing Business with UNC Charlotte” and ensures regular emails are sent to contractors and professional service firms in the construction industry regarding business opportunities and training events. The HUB coordinator is included in the selection process of designers and contractors for capital projects, and the Purchasing Department established a 13 percent participation goal for informal construction projects and obtained approval in 2009 to include “Good Faith Effort” documentation for formal projects as part of informal construction contracts.
Other Good Faith Effort Award recipients were C2 Contractors, located in Greensboro (HUB Firm); Robin Slade, compliance coordinator with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (HUB Advocate); Metcon Inc. of Pembroke (Professional Service/Construction Industry Company); Donovan Everett, project manager with Balfour Beatty Construction (Industry/Agency Individual Award); and Cassandra Herndon, certification/HUB outreach specialist with the state HUB Office (Special Recognition).
The Office for Historically Underutilized Businesses is part of the N.C. Department of Administration.