He works hard helping minority contractors gain a share of the contracts that governments and corporations put out to bid, but he is not employed by minority contractors. 

       In the 1970's, many large corporations, modeling earlier government initiatives, embraced their responsibilities for integrating independent minority businesses into their supplier lines for goods and services.  They recognized that of the billions and billions of dollars in contracts for goods and services that they awarded annually, a miniscule and almost immeasurable amount was being awarded to minorities, and the corporations were determined to reverse that trend.

       But the idea was much easier than the execution.  One problem was that the corporations weren't sure where to locate minority suppliers.  Another was that even minority suppliers did not know the range of contracts available to them and were not versed in how to bid for contracts they learned of.  And, even with the knowledge, many minority contractors, having been historically denied the opportunity to participate, simply were not qualified.

     Also, as the effort at both the government and corporate levels progressed, a more sinister problem developed.  Some majority contractors began to defeat the process by using minority fronts to bid for minority contracts.  It was becoming more and more difficult to distinguish legitimate minority contractors from illegitimate ones.

     So the corporations came together and set up a national organization (NMSDC) with independent affiliates around the country to find solutions to these problems. 

     The Connecticut affiliate, CMSDC, was formed in 1976 and Dr. Fred McKinney was hired as its president in 2001.

     Dr. McKinney is well qualified for the task.  He earned a B.A. in economics from U.C.L.A. in 1976 and his PhD in economics from Yale in 1983 and spent a year during a break in his studies serving with the Carter administration on the Council of Economic Advisors.

       From 1983 to 1987, Dr. McKinney taught at the Brandeis University Heller School for Advanced Studies in Social Welfare teaching courses in health care policy and economic analysis while publishing a book on Allied Health and Nursing and publishing several articles on African American employment and federal government employment and training policies.

       He is currently a partner in the consulting firm of Bobo, Jaynes and McKinney (BJM), which provides economic and financial research services to large and small organizations.  He is also an adjunct professor at the University Of Connecticut School Of Business Administration, where he has served on the faculty since 1987.  He teaches economic analysis, forecasting, statistics and entrepreneurship courses, as well as courses on quality and competitive analysis in the MBA program.

       Dr. McKinney also served on the boards of directors of the University of Connecticut, the forum for World Affairs, the National Allied Health, and Habitat for Greater Bridgeport and holds patents on equipment used to market and distribute whole bean coffee and candy products.