Columbia University Facilities and Operations Executive Vice President Joe Ienuso has been selected as an inaugural City & State Reports 2015 Corporate Social Responsibility Award honoree for Excellence in the Promotion of Workplace Diversity for New York's real estate, construction & housing sector. Ienuso was presented with the award at City & State's Corporate Social Responsibility breakfast event March 31st at John Jay College in Manhattan.
"From the beginning our vision has been to create programs that benefit minority, women, and locally owned businesses and individuals so they are able to work with Columbia or other large institutions," said Ienuso. "The best thing we can do as owners is create opportunity."
Ienuso has demonstrated a commitment to corporate responsibility by recognizing the role an anchor institution such as Columbia can play, impacting large-scale change that ranges from diversifying the workforce to mandating work processes that help create a greener and cleaner environment.
Several of these initiatives have received nation-wide recognition: Columbia's new campus development in Manhattanville in West Harlem received LEED-ND Platinum recognition for sustainable neighborhood development and a clean construction plan addressing air quality, noise, vibration, integrated pest management, communication, and education. Columbia University was the first higher education institution to receive this designation nationally and the first organization to receive this designation in New York.
Ienuso also instituted one of the most ambitious goals in the construction industry - at least 35 percent of all construction spend with minority, women and locally owned companies (MWL), and at least 40 percent of the construction workforce with minority, women and local workers. And, under his leadership and direction, Columbia created a higher education mentorship program for MWL construction trade firms, which has received city, state and national recognition. Professionals from 78 firms graduated from the program and have garnered more than $33 million in construction trades work with Columbia.
Ienuso serves as Chair of Nontraditional Employment for Women, opening doors for women in the male-dominated construction industry. He is on the board of the Salvadori Center, an organization dedicated to improving the math and science skills of children through hands-on activities He serves as Vice Chairman of the New York Building Congress and Founder and Co-Chair of its Education Task Force, helping to encourage all higher education institutions and the construction industry as a whole to recognize the value of community-engagement.