Monday, September 19, 2005

Wilmington, N.C. - “I could watch this all day,” said Cheryl Sutton in late August as she observed the construction of the new student union on the campus of University of North Carolina Wilmington. She pointed out how workers walked the roofline as agilely as if they were on solid ground and where concrete block was beginning to cover steel and give shape to the 62,000 square-foot building.

As Special Assistant to the Associate Vice Chancellor of Facilities and Coordinator of UNCW’s Office of Historically Underutilized Businesses (HUB), Sutton is not only enthralled by the construction process, but equally committed to helping minority businesses build their own successes during UNCW’s current and unprecedented construction campaign. These qualities combined with her past experience as Coordinator for the City of Dayton’s Minority Contractors Business Assistance Program (MCBAP) make Sutton the ideal person to lead the office.

Businesses owned by Blacks, Hispanics, Asian Americans, American Indians, white females and socio-economic disadvantaged groups or individuals are included in the HUB designation. The state of North Carolina has mandated usage of “good faith efforts,” to ensure HUB participation. Additionally, the state has set a verifiable 10% goal for participation by minority businesses in the total value of work for each state building project.

Sutton joined UNCW in early 2003 as coordinator for the HUB office. In this role, she creates and implements strategies to raise awareness of the university’s plans to increase HUB participation, recruits HUB business owners for inclusion in university projects and assists minority-owned small businesses in developing the building blocks necessary for success in UNCW construction projects. In addition to her HUB responsibilities, Sutton is also adjunct management professor with the UNCW Cameron School of Business.

Since her arrival at UNCW, HUB participation in construction projects has grown dramatically. In the HUB 2004 Annual Report, HUB firms accounted for 40% of the dollars spent on formal and informal construction projects from July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004. That’s a pretty healthy percentage considering the size of the pie. The total projects currently in planning, design and construction by the UNCW Office of Facilities amount to more than $224,000,000.

However, Sutton strongly notes that most of that 40% is attributed to non-minority women-owned businesses. UNCW would like to see contractors in all HUB categories included more equitably. And getting a bigger slice of the pie, Sutton says, “requires being ready, willing and able to compete in today’s dynamic marketplace.”

That’s the idea behind the university’s latest effort, the HUB Contractors Business Academy. According to Sutton, the academy will teach essential business skills for managing a competitive construction business. Experts in accounting, cash flow management, employee relations, law and project scheduling will instruct the classes.

The academy, which will be held on the campus of UNCW, will run for 16 consecutive weeks, beginning October 4. This session of the academy will be operated by UNCW in partnership with the University of North Carolina Office of the President, the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Rodgers Builders, Barnhill Contracting Company, City of Wilmington, Carolinas Associated General Contractors, Ken Weeden and Associates, Partners for Economic Inclusion, and Cape Fear Community College Small Business Center and will be the fourth such academy in North Carolina.

Class size will be limited to 25 students. “We want to keep classes small so each contractor can get the most possible attention and instruction,” said Sutton.

The cost of the academy is being subsidized by the university and the aforementioned partnering organizations to keep tuition low. In addition, dinner will be served in an effort to make the sessions convenient as well as informative.

To register or request additional information about the academy, please contact Sutton at 910/962-7597 or suttoncd@uncw.edu.

Photo Note: Sutton is pictured standing in front of the Cultural Arts Building being constructed at UNCW – a project underway w/ Rodgers Builders, Inc.