WVU Parkersburg faculty member appointed examiner for 2008 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

CONTACT:  Dr. Vijay Shah, professor of business, 304-424-8261.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A West Virginia University at Parkersburg faculty member is serving on the national 2008 Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. 

Dr. Vijay Shah, a professor of business at WVU Parkersburg, was appointed by James M. Turner, acting director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to serve on the national board.  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, Dr. Shah is responsible for reviewing and evaluating applications submitted for the award.  The board is composed of approximately 500 leading experts selected from industry, professional and trade organizations, education and health care organizations and government.

Members of the board take part in a preparation course based on the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence and the scoring and evaluation processes for the Baldrige Award.

The Baldrige Award is given by the President of the United States to businesses—manufacturing and service, small and large—and to education, health care and nonprofit organizations that apply and are judged to be outstanding in seven areas:  leadership; strategic planning; customer and market focus; measurement, analysis, and knowledge management; human resource focus; process management; and results.

The award program is managed by NIST, a program of the Commerce Department's Technology Administration, in cooperation with the private sector.  The American Society for Quality (ASQ) in Milwaukee, WI, administers the program. 

cd05/22/08