OSU professor DeYong named senior examiner for Baldrige National Quality Award
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Dr. Camille Frye DeYong, a faculty member in Oklahoma State University’s College of
Engineering, Architecture, and Technology, will again assist in judging companies
and organizations vying for the nation’s top quality award.
DeYong, an associate professor in OSU’s School of Industrial Engineering and Management,
has been appointed by William Jeffrey, director of the National Institute of Standards
and Technology, to the 2007 Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award. Created by public law in 1987, the award is the highest level of national recognition
for performance excellence that a U.S. organization can receive.
As an examiner, DeYong is responsible for reviewing and evaluating applications submitted
for the award. The board is composed of approximately 500 leading experts from industry,
professional and trade organizations, education and health care organizations and
government.
Experts selected meet the highest standards of qualification and peer recognition.
All board members must participate in a preparation course based on the Baldrige Criteria
for Performance Excellence and the scoring and evaluation processes for the Baldrige
Award.
DeYong, whose teaching and research specialties include economic analysis, quality
management, service quality and customer satisfaction, was chosen as senior examiner
for the sixth consecutive year. She continues the longtime service of OSU industrial
engineering faculty members in the award selection process. This tradition dates back
to 1987 when emeritus Regents Professor Ken Case was a member of the first Board of
Examiners. William Kolarik, professor and head of the school, once served for five
years as a Baldrige senior examiner.
“Serving as a senior examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is an
incredible opportunity to interact with leading experts in quality while assessing
how some of the nation’s top companies and organizations operate,” DeYong said. “I
believe it speaks highly of OSU and the School of Industrial Engineering and Management
that we’ve been represented on the board since its inception.
“Our tradition has meant that OSU industrial engineering and management students and
other students who learn about quality in our department can get a firsthand, relevant
account of the most up-to-date, nationally recognized practices, and I’m proud to
continue that,” DeYong said.
The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards may be given annually in six categories:
manufacturing, service, small business, education, health care, and nonprofit (new
for 2007). The awards have been presented to 69 organizations, including 2006 recipients
Premier Inc., MESA Products Inc. and North Mississippi Medical Center.
The award program is managed by NIST, a program of the U.S. Commerce Department’s
Technology Administration, in close cooperation with the private sector. The American
Society for Quality (ASQ) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, administers the program.