I. NAME AND JURISDICTIONThe name of the Association shall be THE NEW JERSEY HIGHER EDUCATION PURCHASING ASSOCIATION (NJHEPA). The jurisdiction shall be the State of New Jersey.
II. MISSION
The mission of the Association shall be:To provide a forum for member representatives and guests to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information affecting the purchasing processes and administration of New Jersey colleges and universities.To promote the professional growth and knowledge for the purchasing administrators of the various New Jersey colleges and universities.To provide a vehicle for communicating with appropriate State officials, business communities and other appropriate organizations.
III. CODE OF ETHICS
The Association endorses and shall follow the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Educational Buyers (NAEB).
Purchasing professionals must have a highly developed sense of professional ethics to protect their own and their institution’s reputation for fair dealing. To strengthen ethical awareness, and to provide guidelines for its members, NAEB has long promoted a code of ethics that includes:
1. Give first consideration to the objectives and policies of my institution.
2. Strive to obtain the maximum value for each dollar of expenditure.
3. Decline personal gifts or gratuities.
4. Grant all competitive suppliers equal consideration insofar as state or federal statute and institutional policy permit.
5. Conduct business with potential and current suppliers in an atmosphere of good faith, devoid of intentional misrepresentation.
6. Demand honesty in sales representation whether offered through the medium of a verbal or written statement, an advertisement, or a sample of the product.
7. Receive consent of originator of proprietary ideas and designs before using them for competitive purchasing purposes.
8. Make every reasonable effort to negotiate an equitable and mutually agreeable settlement of any controversy with a supplier; and/or be willing to submit any major controversies to arbitration or other third party review, insofar as the established policies of my institution permit.
9. Accord a prompt and courteous reception insofar as conditions permit to all who call on legitimate business missions.
10. Cooperate with trade, industrial and professional associations, and with governmental and private agencies for the purposes of promoting and developing sound business methods.
11. Foster fair, ethical and legal trade practices.
12. Counsel and cooperate with NAEB members and promote a spirit of unity and a keen interest in professional growth among them.
IV. OFFICERS
1. The NJHEPA Executive Committee will consist of the following officers: President, Vice President, Treasurer and a Secretary. Their roles shall be as follows:
a. PresidentThe President shall, when present, preside at all meetings. The President shall perform all duties commonly incident to the office and shall have general supervision of the affairs of the Association. Unless otherwise directed, the President shall sign all official association communications. The President shall name the members and chairs of all standing ad-hoc committees and shall be an ex-official member of all such committees, and shall have the right to vote and otherwise participate as a member at all conference meetings.b. Vice PresidentIn the absence of the President, the Vice President shall perform all duties of the office and shall assist the President at other times with the duties of the office.c. TreasurerThe Treasurer shall have general supervision over the care and custody of all Association funds and shall provide reports of deposits and disbursements to the member representatives at the general meetings. The Treasurer shall receive and deposit in the NJHEPA bank account all monies of the Association and shall disburse such funds as necessary for the ordinary course of business or conducted within the limits of a budget adopted by the Board. The treasurer shall sign all checks and notes of the Association, provided that such checks and notes shall also be co-signed by the President for transactions greater than $500. The Treasurer shall chair meetings in the absence of the President and the Vice President.d. SecretaryThe Secretary shall record and distribute the minutes of all meetings. The Secretary shall chair meetings in the absence of the President, the Vice President, and the Treasurer.
2. Elections of Officers – All officers shall be elected as follows: a. The President, at the Spring meeting of odd numbered years, shall appoint a three (3) member Nominating Committee. The Committee will then make a general call for nominations to all institutional members after the Spring meeting. The institutional members will have a minimum of ten (10) business days but no more than a maximum of fifteen (15) days to submit nominees to the Committee. Only institutional members can nominate officers, vote on officers and be elected as officers in the association. Once the nominations have been obtained, the Committee will distribute an official NJHEPA election ballot to all institutional members, listing the nominees for each office. The ballot should be returned to the Nominating Committee with a vote indicated, or a notation that a secret ballot is preferred by that member. A minimum of ten (10) business days shall be given to each institutional member to place their vote but no more than a maximum of fifteen (15) days. The Nominating Committee will then tabulate the votes and announce the election results at the Summer meeting.b. A President who has served the maximum two (2), two-year terms shall automatically receive the nomination for Vice President in the next election and then assume the duties related to that office upon his/her acceptance of the position. If the outgoing President is not inclined to accept the Vice Presidential nomination, the outgoing President must indicate their intentions at the Spring meeting in a voting year so that a ballot containing a slate of four (4) officers can be nominated. If, however, a President is not reelected for a second two-year term, or for whatever reason fails to complete the maximum two (2), two-year terms, the outgoing President will not automatically become the Vice President; therefore, at least a new Vice President will be nominated and voted upon as indicated above.c. A majority (51%) of the institutional members must be in attendance at the Summer meeting when election results are read in order for the slate of officers to be accepted (see Quorum, Section V. 3). If 51% are not able to attend the meeting, those not attending may instead email approval to accept the nominations via email to the current group of officers prior to the Summer meeting to attain the necessary 51% needed to recognize and accept the slate of officers.d. There shall be one (1) vote per institution. The institutional vote shall come from the officially recognized institutional member, not from an associate member.
3. Term of Office:a. The terms of office shall be two (2) academic years and shall commence July 1. Officers may succeed themselves for only one (1) additional two (2) year term. Officers must be active, institutional members of NJHEPA. Individuals, not organizations are elected. The voluntary withdrawal of an officer to resign or vacate a position will be conducted by the submission of a letter of separation to the remaining officers of NJHEPA. This letter will be presented to all active members at the next scheduled meeting or by electronic method.4. Recall:a. Inexcusable absence for three (3) successive regular meetings shall render any officer of the Association subject to recall.
V. MEETINGS
1. Frequencies and Time of Meetings:a. The meetings will be held quarterly at a time designated by the President. There shall be a minimum of four (4) regular meetings per academic year. Generally, the meetings are scheduled in March (“Spring”), June (“Summer), October (“Fall”), and January (“Winter”).2. Notice of Meetings:a. Notice of meetings shall be emailed to the membership at least two (2) – four (4) weeks prior to regular meetings and as soon as possible prior to special meetings.3. Quorum:a. At least fifty-one (51) percent of the officially recognized institutional members from member institutions in good standing shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.4. Agenda and Procedure:a. The agenda for each meeting shall be prepared by the President and shall be furnished to each member of the Association prior to the meeting for which it is prepared.b. The order of business shall be at the discretion of the presiding officer.c. Meetings or portions of meetings concerned with bylaws or other changes in the structure of the organization shall be conducted in accordance with parliamentary procedure, “Robert’s Rules of Orders.”5. Interim President:a. In the event that the President, the Vice President, the Secretary or the Treasurer are all unable to preside over a meeting, the President shall designate an interim chair, or providing there is a quorum, the attending institutional member representatives may appoint an attendee to preside over the meeting.
VI. MEMBERSHIP AND FEES
1. Institutional Membership:a. Membership is open to all recognized New Jersey campuses of higher learning. Each individual institution/campus shall pay an annual membership fee, established by the Association, which shall include the membership of the designated institutional member representative. Changes in the membership fee shall be made by a vote from a majority (51%) of attending institutional members.2. Associate Membership:a. Staff members in the purchasing area of member institutions may become associate members. The Association will establish an Associate Membership fee. These associate members will be included in all association email correspondence and will be listed on the official NJHEPA website (www.njhepa.org), but they will not have voting rights. They are eligible to attend any/all NJHEPA meetings. b. In lieu of a full-level associate member, an institutional member may request that in his/her absence a university colleague from his/her member institution be allowed to attend any NJHEPA meeting with prior notice to the officers when he/she is not able to attend. These individuals will not be charged Associate Membership fees. 3. Special Assessments:a. The Association may request special assessments of its members for extraordinary expenses whenever such action has been approved by a majority vote.4. Termination of Membership:a. Members will make a best faith effort to attend and or participate in all activities of the Association. Membership will be terminated for any institution or individual who fails to remit their dues within six months of the following year.5. Lifetime Memberships:a. Lifetime membership may be awarded to any member of NJHEPA who retires from their respective institution and who has been a current dues paying member for a minimum of five (5) years. Such awards are to be based on outstanding contributions to the Association and in the purchasing field. Consideration for lifetime membership will be voted on by current dues paying members of the Association.
VII . VOTING
a. Each organization campus is entitled to one vote via the recognized institutional member.
b. Voting by proxy shall not be permitted.
c. Voting by electronic method is permitted when applicable. However the total number of votes cast must be equal to a quorum (see Section V.3).
d. A quorum shall be required at a properly noticed meeting to vote on any issue or proposal.
e. All voting, except as otherwise provided for in these bylaws, shall pass by simple majority vote.
f. All votes (formal or consensus reached) will be recorded in the meeting minutes.
VIII. AMENDMENTS TO BYLAWS
Changes in the bylaws shall require a fifty-one (51) percent vote from institutional members, and may only be made after having been proposed at a meeting and moved for final adoption at the succeeding meeting or, at the option of the officers, a mail ballot may be conducted in the period intervening between the meeting at which the change was introduced at the succeeding meeting.
