I invite you to envision an academic community where minority and women-owned small businesses flourish. In this community, we understand that we must not only consider which products, services or contracting practices are most environmentally suitable, but, we must also include diverse constituents.

The Business Diversity Program is a proactive initiative created to support the economic needs of Washington and the vital role diversity plays in the state, national, and global marketplace. Lynn Beck and I are the dedicated staff members charged with leading this effort. Lynn is formerly of the Purchasing Department and I am formerly with the Business and Economic Development Center in the Foster School of Business. Our program was recently revamped and reorganized and now resides within the Office of Strategy Management, a unit of Finance and Facilities. The success of business diversity requires the efforts of all of us.

Why is business diversity important?

Small businesses are a crucial part of our region’s economic development and job creation. Based on recent census statistics, 70% of new jobs nationwide are created by small businesses. In Washington State, businesses with less than 500 employees employ more than 1.2 million workers and represent more than 98 percent of employer-businesses in the state. Further, small businesses employ more than 50 percent of the state’s non-farm private sector workforce (U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Statistics of U. S. Businesses). However, based on the data collected in the recently published, “Washington Minority Small Business Survey”, on average, the growth of minority-owned businesses in Washington state lags behind that of average Washington small businesses.

Demographic changes predicted for the coming decade mean that people of color will own a greater share of the state’s businesses. The average business in Washington employs nine people and generates approximately $3.4 million in revenues (US Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Statistics of U.S. Businesses). If the average minority business is as successful as the average business in Washington, 121,000 new jobs will be created, and approximately $121 billion in additional revenues will be generated. Certainly, the government benefits from the tax revenue generated from these businesses and the entire state benefits from the creativity and innovations of all segments of our community.

How are we approaching this challenge?

Although large dollar purchases are secured through the Purchasing Department and construction projects managed by the Capital Projects Office, each school, college and often each department greatly influences decisions when it comes to purchasing goods and services. We have a decentralized procurement process at the UW for small dollar purchases. For example, we have vendor catalogs, like the Office Depot catalog, with a hub designator. In the same way, we are embracing a decentralized approach to encourage the entire University to use minority and women owned businesses. We fully understand that business diversity will not become the sustainable business practice we know it can be if we fail to engage the entire UW community in this effort. That means WE NEED YOU! Lynn Beck and I share a passion for facilitating this change – increasing the UW’s utilization of minority and women-owned businesses, which is currently about 0.5% and 1.6% respectively. You can make this vision a reality.

By thinking out of the box and replicating strategic measures that will ultimately result in team-driven initiatives, we can all extend the possibilities for enhanced business partnerships with minority and women-owned businesses.

Making the vision a reality

I’ll confess. My affinity for the growth and development of small businesses pre-dates my current position. My family owns one of the largest minority-owned construction management companies in the state of Michigan. My first job was working for this company and it offered the privilege of experiencing first hand the positive impact that small businesses have on the economy. Later on in my life, as a wealth management advisor, I witnessed the wealth created by small businesses and the opportunities afforded through the generational transfer of wealth.

As the new UW Business Diversity Manager I eagerly embrace my role as an agent of change. Making the vision a reality excites me, for I know the impact will shape the lives of many. I also know that I alone cannot realize our vision – to be an academic community where minority and women-owned small businesses representing the diverse community we serve, flourish. The change I seek requires you. Our vision is only achieved through the highest level of collaboration. I am confident that together, we can do it.

So let us do as time management author, Stephen Covey, suggests. Let’s begin with the end in mind. I’ve shared the vision and my confidence that collectively, we can surmount the challenge before us. As our community increasingly embraces the practices of sustainability, “buying green” and social responsibility, let us also renew our commitment to creating an environment that welcomes the talent and creativity of all businesses. When minority and women businesses succeed, it not only benefits the enterprising entrepreneur and their families, but, also the broader community by creating jobs, stimulating economic vitality, and turning dreams into realities.

The Non Resident Alien Processing Team (NRAPT) has been working for over 2 years to standardize the way that foreign nationals are paid at the UW.  Payments can be made by several offices across FM and that has caused much confusion.  Each office has their own requirements and forms for payment, and with the addition of IRS rules and Homeland Security restrictions, the process for payment can be quite confusing.  NRAPT took on the task of making it easier.

Team Members are:  Li Chang Wong (SFS), Susan White (SFS), Dawn Lake (Purchasing), George Moore (ISS), Pramilla Chand (AP), Donna Andreason (AP), Donald Obcena (AP), Julia Shanahan (Tax Office), Yee Lam (Payroll), Eva Lu (Payroll), and Heather Norberg Stewart (Payroll – Team Leader).

The first step was to figure out what the current process is. Using process improvement tools under the guidance of Jeanne Semura, we flowcharted the existing processes and looked for overlapping or common areas.  Next, with the help of Kate Riley and the Global Support Operations Project, we wrote a website that would encompass all of the payment options into one central location.  There are still edits to be made to the website, but it has been rolled out to campus and can be viewed at: 

http://www.washington.edu/admin/finmgmt/globalsupport/fntg.gettingstarted.html.

The analysis of the current process revealed areas of overlap and opportunities for standardization.  We have created a new Foreign National Payment Data Sheet that will be used by all offices making payments to foreigners.  We have also created helpful checklists to assist departments in requesting payments for foreign nationals.  The final step is a campus wide training highlighting the new processes and one-stop information source available on the global website.

The NRAPT has been dedicated and has worked extremely hard to simplify complex processes.  Our goal has been to make it easier for campus departments to pay foreign nationals and give our own staff standard information and a source to find the right answers for our customers.

After more than a few years of creating conceptual schematics, talking with peers, and impassioned debates, the Internal Lending Program (ILP) and associated debt policy was approved by the Board of Regents at the May 2008 meeting. This means that effective July 1st, 2008 the University will borrow and lend money in an entirely different way. The ILP impacts how the University interacts with the external bond market (i.e. Wall Street), how the University lends money internally to those who need it, and how the University manages the outstanding debt that it has.

First, a short history lesson. Until quite recently, the University didn’t have the legal authority to borrow money for anything other than business type uses (like Student Housing, Parking Garages, Hospital, and Athletics). All other building needs were funded by the state. As budgets got tighter in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, UW made the decision to attempt to broaden legal borrowing authority by working through the legislative process in Olympia. This work was successful and led to the authority to issue bonds for research buildings in 2003 and the authority to issue bonds for all other types of buildings in 2007.

These legislative changes were very important to the creation of the ILP because they allowed for the creation of the General Revenue Bond (GRB) platform. The GRB platform uses all “local” funds as the source of repayment for future debt. Local funds represent any money not given to the UW by the state (examples are indirect cost and tuition building fee). By having a single highly rated (AA+ by Standard and Poor’s and Aa1 by Moody’s) university entity, UW can achieve the absolute lowest cost of borrowing for its projects.

Enough with the background. What does the ILP do for the University and its capital needs?

First, it means that University borrowers have a stable and predictable borrowing rate. This rate is currently set at 5.5%.

Second, it means that the issuance of debt will be consolidated, so that rather than issuing bonds three times a year for three projects, bonds will only be issued once. This is a more efficient way to issue bonds and saves on bond costs of issuance.

Third, it means that total University debt can be viewed holistically as a “portfolio” instead of separately, as it has been until now. This change in perspective allows for the use of various techniques to reduce overall interest cost; techniques such as interest rate swaps and variable rate debt.

Fourth, it means that, in most cases, money will only be borrowed when it is needed, on a just-in-time basis. This will be accomplished by issuing commercial paper or CP. CP is a short term debt instrument that is used by large organizations to access funds as they are needed. This method assures that the University isn’t paying interest on debt ahead of actually needing the money.

Finally, the actual repayment and accounting of debt is migrating from the Financial Accounting Office to the Treasury Office. The process has been handled expertly for many years by Nancy Treibel, but as of July 1st, Ruchi Aggarwal, Internal Lending Program Operations Manager, will be handed the reigns. Since two sets of books will be maintained, one for internal borrowing and one for external borrowing, it is important to have a dedicated person to manage the entire program.

The ILP is a major step forward for the Debt Team and the University. It will assure that the institution achieves the lowest interest rate and costs of issuance and it will give borrowers the security of a stable interest rate over time.

See attached link for the complete Board of Regents item with the revised debt policy:

http://www.washington.edu/regents/meetings/meetings08/may/items/fin/f-9.pdfRevised Debt Policy

Lloyd’s of London has been in business since its founding in Edward Lloyd’s Tower Street coffeehouse in 1688. This year, for the first time in Lloyd’s 320 year history, a representative of the insurance giant was invited to intern within the walls of an insured.

James Barrett, of the Chaucer Syndicate at Lloyd’s, spent a week at UW this spring. The visit was part of a plan to make the existing relationship between Chaucer and UW even more collaborative and productive. The UW will ask its underwriters at Lloyd’s to collaborate in patient safety research at UW, which would benefit both institutions in reducing liability risk, and benefit healthcare in general. James, an honors graduate of the University of Southampton, works as a Risk Analyst at Chaucer. His itinerary at UW introduced him to American risk management practices in higher education, research and healthcare.

James’s internship was timed to coincide with the claims audit chartered by his employer and performed by an attorney from Chicago with expertise in evaluating the strategic and technical strength of in-house claims programs like UW’s. After he successfully completed on-line HIPAA privacy training, the managers in the Office of Risk Management provided James with overviews of the risk financing, claims services and Enterprise Risk Management programs.  These were followed by an in-depth orientation to healthcare risk management techniques by the Health Sciences Risk Management staff. Tours of the Harborview intensive care unit and UWMC’s simulation laboratory were highlights of his trip.

James saw all of the Seattle campus as well, including a tour of the R/V Thompson (a UW operated research vessel), visits to the Seaglider and other APL laboratories, an introduction to Dr. Pierre Mourad, the inventor of the ultrasound toothbrush technology, and a tour of the Microfabrication Laboratory with Dr. Kirk Weiss.

One of his most interesting experiences was working on the robotic “patient” at the UW Institute for Surgical and Interventional Simulation. Programmed to recognize interactions between 600 drugs and capable of imitating the body for various medical procedures, the robot is a sophisticated training tool in today’s medical education. James commented that he’d almost “killed” the robot by the time anesthesiologist Dr. Brian Ross took over.

In the few minutes of spare time his itinerary allowed, James took in the Space Needle, a UW baseball game, and helped the balance of trade by buying electronics and clothing to take home. It was a busy and enjoyable week for James and his Risk Management hosts

The recent campus-wide “My Team is Great” competition encouraged UW teams to get creative and show how their group best exemplifies UW’s core values:  integrity, diversity, excellence, collaboration, innovation, and respect.

This competition got the attention of Student Fiscal Services. But would anyone be interested in what Student Fiscal Services does? How would we make it interesting to the entire campus? What would it take to produce a competitive entry? Why would we want to enter anyways?

A project like this brings up lots of questions before you even get started.  You’ve got plenty of work on your desk already….why would you want to take on something extra?  The opportunity to showcase SFS Outreach efforts to the entire campus was just too good to pass up. Once the decision was made to enter, we needed to come up with a plan and a team to highlight.  After all, the competition was to show that “My Team is Great” and we indeed had a great team on which to focus.  The Outreach team includes members from every unit within SFS and has put a lot of effort into helping the Outreach Unit.  Members include:  Alan Shankle, Norm Englund, Kyra Worrell, Arlene Lalas and Diane Cooley.

OK, so what’s next after the decision is made to enter the contest?  We wanted to showcase our efforts for students, especially our online projects and initiatives.  Fortunately we have creative people on the team.  Alan whipped out a first draft of the script.  (Do you suppose his years working for Disney helped him come up with the idea of a fairy tale approach?) Anyone who’s tried to write a story knows that this isn’t as simple as it sounds – you need to come up with an idea (a plot) before you can even start writing. Of course, you need a little creative talent. The entire team helped with feedback and suggestions. Once we had a direction, we were able to really start creating a fun contest entry.

Outreach has been working on screencasts/podcasts of the financial information we want to provide to students so this format seemed like the logical type of presentation.  Diane has the expertise in the software used (Camtasia and Photoshop) and was the production and visual arts staff. Norm, Arlene, Alan and Kyra helped with ideas for the visuals. Alan was the main voice talent with a little help from Colin Sachs, who has since joined the Outreach Team.

Kyra, Norm and Arlene were responsible for actually filling in the submission form.  This required a little writing and focused on the core values that the team exemplifies.

Once “Timmy’s Excellent Adventure” was submitted, the waiting began.  Would the campus community like it?  Our leaders showed support and notified other units that we had entered the contest.  People voted.  Finally, Diane received a phone call.  We had won. We were amazed and very excited!  The team was all smiles for several days.  We received the formal award at the annual Red Square barbecue and had our picture taken with President Emmert and Provost Wise.  We were invited to lunch with the Provost.  We received congratulations from people all over campus.  Our entry was featured on the UW homepage and in University Week. Other departments asked about the SFS Outreach program.  Wow, it definitely was worth entering a campus-wide competition.

The UW plans to repeat this competition next year.  I urge other teams in Financial Management to participate.  I know that there are other great teams out there.  All you need is an idea and the group to develop your entry.  It does take time (about 40 hours total for “Timmy”) but it is worth the effort