Kean University's $250K Conference Table Purchase Broke State And School Policies: OSC

Union, NJ -- Kean University broke state and their own policies when they purchased a conference table from China totaling $250,000, the New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller announced.

Before the University's Board of Trustees even voted on the purchase, the custom-built table had already been built and was making its way on a boat from a China in May 2014, according to the OSC.

Several items were discovered by during the OSC's investigation proving the purchase was underway prior to the board's approval.

An email sent five months prior where Kean University's president gave the "green light" and approved the purchase was discovered.

Other documents, payments and correspondents were also found as proof of the OSC's findings.

As a result the purchase did not follow state procurement laws and even the University's own procurement policy.

"This was a done deal prior to the Board of Trustee's vote," State Comptroller Philip James Degan stated in a release.

Kean University tried to claim two exceptions to the public bidding law including: "extraordinary unspecifiable services which cannot reasonably be described by written specifications" and "acquisition of artifacts and other items of unique intrinsic, artistic, or historic character."

Despite the university's claims, the OSC found that Kean failed to prove how the table fell under these exceptions. The OSC even found evidence from an architect with the specifications on it.

As a result of the investigation, the OSC recommended Kean to provide appropriate training to university staff and to update and modify its policies and procedures.

• Kean University Statement:

The William F. Loehning Conference Center in Kean University’s Green Lane Academic Building is a proud and positive development and asset for the University that serves the region and state. Through a lengthy due diligence process that is consistent with the State College Contracts Law, the University obtained the best value on a unique and extraordinary architectural fixture that was designed to support Kean’s Global Business School and other programs. The report issued by the Office of the State Comptroller has significant omissions that explain Kean’s actions. Kean University acted legally and with transparency throughout the process of developing the Loehning Conference Center. The OSC’s recommendations are already in place.

The Conference Center, and the University’s ultimate decision to work with its Chinese partners on the Center’s development, was the culmination of a comprehensive, strategic plan for the top floor of the facility endorsed by University leaders and the Board of Trustees. This strategy is being realized. The Conference Center already has generated invaluable interest and revenue from alumni, investors, corporate leaders and lawmakers. The Conference Center has hosted dozens of policy roundtables on important state, local and national issues, including: solitary confinement; rampant drug abuse among New Jersey teens; domestic violence; issues facing the Latino community in New Jersey and the nation; and the ramifications of the Affordable Care Act on business and government. The Conference Center also hosted representatives of 25 Chinese universities for a valuable session on the globalization of higher education; serves as the meeting site for the members of the Global Business School’s Advisory Board; received the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China; hosted a remarkable exchange among human rights activists that connected Kean students with community activists in the Congo and Washington D.C.; hosted several state and municipal agencies and officials, such as New Jersey Transit, the Elizabeth Development Company, the Mayor of Jersey City and the Acting Union County Prosecutor; and has already generated an excess of $22,000 in rental revenue and $250,000 in donations for the University.