Press Release
Date: 10-27-09Name: Zenaida Mendez Phone: (973) 972-7273
Email: mendezze@umdnj.edu
UMDNJ Annual Procurement Event Attracts More Than 500 Prospective Vendors
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The program, entitled “Sustaining Supplier Diversity,” began with a welcome from UMDNJ President William F. Owen, Jr., M.D. Following his remarks, participants were invited to attend six workshops designed to give entrepreneurs more information about doing business with UMDNJ, from the supply chain process to the request for proposal process. The program concluded with a luncheon featuring James A. Kocsi, district director for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s New Jersey District office in Newark.
“We have received a lot of positive feedback from attendees and presenters alike,” said Ernestine Watson, assistant vice president of UMDNJ’s Office of Supplier Diversity and Vendor Development. “We repeatedly heard from participants that the information provided was timely and valuable. And they appreciated the opportunities to register, on-site, for New Jersey Small/Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprise and US Small Business certification and to have face-to-face interaction with our purchasing staff.”
The State of New Jersey has set a goal that 25 percent of purchasing for construction, goods, equipment and services by public entities, including the University, be made from small and minority- and women-owned businesses. UMDNJ recently received several awards that recognize its leadership among purchasers striving to achieve this mandate. Through events such as this, the University seeks to expand its partnerships with a wide array of local entrepreneurs.
Anyone who could not attend the event but is interested in becoming a UMDNJ vendor should contact Deborah Wiggins in UMDNJ’s Office of Supplier Diversity and Vendor Development at (973) 972-4318 or email wigginde@umdnj.edu.
Reporters interested in arranging an interview with Ernestine Watson should contact Zenaida Mendez at (973) 972-7273 or email mendezze@umdnj.edu.
As a resource to all citizens of New Jersey, UMDNJ is committed to diversity in education, research, health care, employment, and business opportunities. We are proud of our accomplishments and will continue to build on these achievements through actively and affirmatively seeking a diverse group of vendors and to develop professional relationships with small businesses, including minority and women-owned firms.
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) is the nation’s largest free-standing public health sciences university with nearly 5,700 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and its only school of public health on five campuses. Annually, there are more than two million patient visits at UMDNJ facilities and faculty practices at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a statewide mental health and addiction services network.
