Paving the way for economic inclusivity at TU

By JAMIE ABELL on February 29, 2024

As an anchor institution in the greater Baltimore region, TU can leverage its economic power and human capital to improve socioeconomic conditions for surrounding communities and strive for economic inclusion. Jen Stano, the assoicate vice president for the Office of Human Resources, and Joselyn Johnson, the director of the Office of Procurement, are leading the charge.

Local Hiring: 5 Things You Need to Know from Jen Stano

• By working with nonprofits and workforce development organizations, Towson University can serve local neighborhoods that may need more economic support than others.
• Local hiring supports neighborhoods that need economic revitalization because when more people have jobs, quality of life in that area increases.
• Staff and faculty who need to quickly hire someone should contact Nyasha Lumumba, manager of talent acquisition, to begin the process.
• A temporary hire is considered a Contingent I worker, meaning they are TU employees with the opportunity to network within TU and attend professional development opportunities and TU events. They can also apply for a permanent job at TU as an internal employee immediately after being placed.
• Considering a temporary hire for open positions allows supervisors to quickly fill a vacancy. TU has had success with temporary hires applying for and being appointed to the permanent position after a competitive search.

“We are surrounded by different communities that have strong economic ties with schools, hospitals and businesses,” says Stano. “As an anchor institution, we are invested in the communities and have the responsibility to provide economic support. Through our programs, we find wonderful, highly qualified people that might otherwise be overlooked.”

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Local Purchasing: 5 Things You Need to Know from Joselyn Johnson

• Local spending makes a lasting impact on the community because it provides opportunities to smaller businesses and minority-owned companies that have historically been ignored when it comes to contracting. Spending locally establishes Towson University as a community partner and encourages more small and local businesses to want to work with us.
• Spending locally stimulates the economy by giving a fair advantage to the historically disenfranchised local businesses.
• By law, the university is required to contract 29% of our procurement dollars to minority-owned vendors (MBEs), 15% to small businesses (SBs) and 2% to veteran-owned businesses.
• Approximately $9.3 million in procurement card purchases are made annually. As TU tries to reach the goal mandated by law, only approximately 2% of these purchases are made to MBEs and 3% to SBs. This is a great opportunity for faculty and staff procurement cardholders to work with the Chanel Franze, university manager of business diversity and supplier inclusion, to identify small, minority and veteran businesses before making purchases with larger companies.
• On June 12, Towson University is hosting a vendor fair. Faculty and staff, along with other USM and state institutions, can explore products and services from local, small, minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses and participating vendors can learn about upcoming contracting opportunities.

“We want our faculty and staff to ask, ‘What can I do to encourage spending with small, minority and veteran businesses?’” says Johnson. “Once that question becomes second nature, and our purchasers see small and minority-owned businesses as the first avenue for doing business, then we will begin to see the change that will positively impact our community and, ultimately, our state.”