HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — When the University of South Florida Judy Genshaft Honors College is complete next year, it’ll be quite the milestone for Allen Greene II.

The family business, Envision Construction Services, which he owns with his father and wife, is one of the many minority-owned businesses contracted by USF.

“We’re extremely excited to be a part of such an amazing story and we’re making a real impact in the community,” Greene said.

USF’s commitment to supporting diversity recently won them the national Jesse Moore Supplier Diversity Award from INSIGHT into Diversity magazine, the oldest and only print diversity and inclusion publication in higher education.

“With the university being one of the largest economic drivers in this region we know that we have a responsibility to utilize those suppliers in a meaningful way,” said USF Office of Supplier Diversity assistant vice president Terrie Daniel.

Since USF launched its initiative to enhance supplier diversity in 2017, it has spent more than $120 million on contracts with businesses owned by minorities, women, and veterans.

The amount represents nearly 8% of the university's competitively sourced purchases. Prior to the new initiative, USF spent approximately $18 million per year with diverse suppliers — that amount has grown to as high as $34 million in recent years.

USF previously earned statewide recognition for its supplier diversity and community engagement efforts by receiving the 2020 "Doing Well While Doing Good Humanitarian Award" from the Florida State Minority Supplier Development Council.

Daniel and her team continue to focus on outreach efforts and expanding programming opportunities for businesses to learn more about the university's procurement processes. The Office of Supplier Diversity also educates USF staff and faculty on best practices for considering minority, woman and veteran-owned businesses when making purchases.

“It’s going to take time, it’s going to take patience, and endurance, but I truly believe that the impact because of this commitment is going to go on for generations,” Greene said.

Since Greene connected with USF’s Office of Supplier Diversity a few years ago, he says he’s won upwards of $70 million worth of projects with USF, the most recent being the new Judy Genshaft Honors College.

Greene connected with USF’s Office of Supplier Diversity a few years ago; since then, he has been awarded $70 million of work alongside their “Big Brother” and mentor - The Beck Group. He says, “We believe that it takes an authentic relationship to make a sustainable impact on diverse businesses. Over the years, Beck and Envision have done just that by fostering real relationships throughout both organizations and have now infused our teams on Beck-Envision projects. Our partnership with Beck is making an impact with other diverse and local businesses. The most recent being the new Judy Genshaft Honors College, where we look to challenge standards, exceed expectations and turn success into significance!”

It’s an opportunity that has changed his life.

“My son is two, my daughter’s three. So to imagine driving down Fowler Avenue and being able to see this honors college and potentially my children going to USF and being a part of this honors college, I mean it means the world to me,” he said.  

As part of its commitment to supporting diverse businesses in the region, USF has a list of the businesses it’s worked with on its Office of Supplier Diversity page.