UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Ann Dodd, assistant dean for strategic initiatives and graduate education in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, has been named to the 2008 Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

The award, created by law in 1987, is the highest level of national recognition for performance excellence that a U.S. organization can receive. Dodd was appointed to the board by James M. Turner, acting director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

As an examiner, Dodd 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.

Those selected meet the highest standards of qualification and peer recognition. All members of the board must take part in a preparation course based on the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence and the scoring and evaluation processes for the Baldrige Award.

Awards may be given annually in each of six categories: Manufacturing, Service, Small Business, Education, Health Care, and Non-profit. Awards have been presented to 74 organizations. The 2007 recipients included PRO-TEC Coating Co., Mercy Health System, Sharp HealthCare, City of Coral Springs and U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center.

Before joining the College of Agricultural Sciences, Dodd was a senior consultant with Penn State's Office of Planning and Institutional Assessment, where she helped design and facilitate more than 50 strategic planning initiatives for Penn State colleges, departments and administrative units. She established the Penn State Quality Advocates Network to share best practices in planning, assessment, improvement and change management. She also initiated a Fast Track Improvement model that resulted in the enhancement of several university functions. In addition, she taught and conducted research on academic leadership, quality management and conflict communication.

Previously, Dodd spent five years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she last served as executive assistant to the vice chancellor and director of institutional effectiveness. She also held multiple posts in quality improvement in the Division of Information Technology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Information about the Baldrige National Quality Program and the application process is available from the Baldrige National Quality Program, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Administration Bldg., Room A600, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 1020, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1020; telephone (301) 975-2036; fax (301) 948-3716. Information also can be found online at http://www.baldrige.nist.gov.

The award program is managed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a program of the Commerce Department's Technology Administration, in close cooperation with the private sector. The American Society for Quality in Milwaukee, Wis., administers the program.

###

EDITORS: Contact Ann Dodd at 814-865-3136 or at ahd2@psu.edu. For more information about the Baldrige Award, contact Michael E. Newman, NIST Public Affairs Office, at 301-975-3025 or at michael.newman@nist.gov.

Writer-Editor:
Chuck Gill
814-863-2713
cdg5@psu.edu